NATIONAL  PA 

AND  TREASURE 


MATHILDE  EDITH  HO LT  /, 
KATHARINE  ISABEL  BEMIS 


nia 


MORXTXG    EAGLE    FALLS, 
PIEGAN    PASS    REGION 


GLACIER 
NATIONAL  PARK 

ITS  TRAILS  AND  TREASURES 

BY 

MATHILDE  EDITH  HOLTZ 

AND 

KATHARINE  ISABEL  BEMIS 

MEMBEBS  OF  THE  AMEBICAN  ROCKIES  ALPINE  CLUB 
ILLUSTRATED  FROM  PHOTOGRAPHS 


NEW  YORK 
GEORGE  H.  DORAN  COMPANY 


COPYRIGHT,  1917, 
BY  GEORGE  H.  DORAN  COMPANY 


PRINTED  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA 


TO  ALL  LOVERS 
OF  NATURE 


2071852 


FOREWORD 

Our  design  in  the  following  pages  is  to  direct 
the  attention  and  interest  of  nature-lovers  to  one 
of  the  newer  play-grounds  of  our  country,  the 
Glacier  National  Park,  in  the  Rocky  Mountains 
of  Montana.  Nature  has  been  almost  reckless 
in  equipping  this  spot  with  the  most  characteristic 
features  of  beauty  and  wonder. 

Our  country  is  rich  in  natural  scenery  and 
offers  an  inexhaustible  supply  of  scenic  features 
which  are  true  fountain-heads  from  which  re- 
newed spirits,  health  and  inspiration  may  be 
drawn.  The  nation  owes  it  to  the  people  to  set 
apart  and  make  accessible  portions  of  the  mag- 
nificent regions  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  as  great 
parks,  for  their  education,  pleasure,  and  profit. 
It  signifies  a  high  degree  of  patriotism  when 
Congress  creates  these  national  parks  and  con- 
serves their  possessions.  The  human  mind  and 
heart  long  for  visions  of  the  sublime  and  an  op- 
portunity for  intimacy  with  the  great  features  of 
the  natural  world. 

vii 


viii  FOREWORD 

For  centuries  Nature  has  been  fashioning  a 
great  region  which,  in  recognition  of  its  most 
active  formative  agent,  has  been  honoured  with 
the  name  of  Glacier  National  Park. 

He  who  traverses  this  mountain-land  park  en- 
riches his  memory  with  a  wealth  of  beautiful  pic- 
tures. This  is  a  dream  world,  a  land  of  enchant- 
ment. It  is  Nature's  great  art  gallery  and  sculp- 
ture hall. 

John  Muir  said  of  it,  "Give  a  month  at  least 
to  this  precious  reserve.  The  time  will  not  be 
taken  from  your  life.  Instead  of  shortening,  it 
will  indefinitely  lengthen  it  and  make  you  truly 
immortal."  M.  E.  H. 

K.  I.  B. 

MINNEAPOLIS,  MINNESOTA, 
April  ly  1917. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  I 

PAOE 

NATURE'S  GREAT  PLAY-GROUND  .         .         .         .         .19 

A  little  paradise — Creation  of  the  play-ground — Lo- 
cation and  boundaries — Ranges  and  Continental  Divide 
— Natural  little  park  on  Flattop  Mountain — Approach 
to  the  Park — What  the  transcontinental  traveller  does 
not  see — Entrance  stations — Trips  into  the  interior — 
Scenic  attractions — The  charm  of  the  lakes — Music  in  * 
the  Park — "Thrillers" — Natural  Zoo — The  mountains — A 
great  outdoor  institute  of  art. 

CHAPTER  II 

HOTELS  AND  CHALETS  .......     29 

Interesting  features  of  the  Park — Arrival  at  Glacier 
Park  Hotel — The  setting  of  the  hotel — The  architecture 
of  Glacier  Park  Hotel — Side  trips — Two  Medicine  Camp 
and  side  trips — Cut  Bank  Camp  and  side  trips — St. 
Mary's  Camp — Red  Eagle  and  other  side  trips — Launch 
ride  on  St.  Mary's  Lake — Going-to-the-Sun  Camp  and 
side  trips — Gunsight  Camp  and  side  trips — Sperry  Camp 
— Granite  Park  Camp — Many  Glacier  Camp — Many 
Glacier  Hotel  and  side  trips — Tepee  Camps. 

CHAPTER  III 

ON  THE  MOUNT  HENRY  TRAIL    .         .         .         .         .51 

The  group  of  peaks  near  Glacier  Park  Hotel — Eager- 
ness to  start  into  the  interior — Rendezvous  in  the  "for- 
est lobby" — A  grey  day — Evening  around  the  camp-fire 
— Guides  of  the  Park — Donald  Monroe — The  rain  con- 


x  CONTENTS 

PA6B 

tinues — Dressed  for  the  Park — Off,  and  hitting  the  trail 
up  Mt.  Henry — Caught  in  the  rain — Snow-storm  on  top 
of  Mt.  Henry — Snow-drift  interferes — "Babes  in  the 
Woods" — The  descent  of  the  "switch-back" — Zones  of 
Alpine  vegetation — Arrival  at  Two  Medicine  Chalets. 

CHAPTER  IV 

TRAILS  AND  ROADS       .......     67 

Easy  approach  into  the  interior — The  Automobile 
Highway — Panoramic  views — Inspirations — A  region  of 
beauties — Sunset  on  Lake  McDermott — Belton  to  Lake 
McDonald — Lovers  of  high  places — How  trails  are  made 
—"Switch-backs"— "Skyland"  trails— Swift  Current  Val- 
ley— Preparing  to  cross  Swift  Current  Pass — On  the  way 
—The  hard  climb — The  Garden  Wall— Faithful  greys- 
View  from  the  Pass — To  the  west  of  the  Pass — Ice- 
berg Lake  Trail — Rocky  Mountain  goat  and  Big  Horn 
sheep — Out  to  Cracker  Lake — Gunsight  Pass — Walk- 
ing the  trail — A  sight  of  Lake  Louise — Breathless 
climbing — A  pass  of  snow — East  and  went — Down 
Mt.  Jackson— Triple  Divide—  Spell  of  a  trail. 

CHAPTER  V 

THE  OLD  TRAVOIS  TRAIL 87 

"The  old  trail  that  close  to  the  mountain  passes" — 
Advantage  in  crossing  the  foothills — Scouts  sent  in 
advance — The  travois  contrivance — Winding  over  the 
buffalo-grass  hills — The  Hudson  Bay  Company  using  the 
travois  trail  lock  gun — Buffaloes  as  easy  game — Dangers 
of  the  trail — Faded  lines  tell  a  story — An  old  war  lodge 
— A  pile  of  stone — Under  the  mould — Mountains  seen 
from  the  trail — Tracing  the  trail — As  a  "get-away" — 
Major  Logan — Lewis  and  Clark — The  Automobile 
Highway. 

CHAPTER  VI 

PlEGAN  PASS THE  FLOWER  PASS  ....    100 

Of  Piegan  Pass — Gunsight  Lake — Early  morning  in 
the  mountains — Matin  chorus  of  the  birds — On  the  trail 


CONTENTS  xi 

PAGE 

to  St.  Mary's  meadows — The  forest  of  Going-to-the-Sun 
Mt. — Charles  and  the  Marathon  Runner — Our  Piegan 
Uplands — A  thriller — The  Pass  filled  with  snow — The 
Field  of  the  Cloth  of  Gold— Morning  Eagle  Falls— 
Nearing  Many  Glacier  Camp — Moonlight  on  Lake 
McDennott. 

CHAPTER  VII 

THE  FLOWER  FIELDS  OF  GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK      .  112 

Glacier  National  Park  an  enchanted  land — Regarding 
flower-lovers  and  plant  specialists — Alpine  flora — Short- 
ened season  of  Alpine  vegetation — Rich  and  representa- 
tive mountain  flora  of  the  Park — Regions  in  the  Park 
most  notable  for  Alpine  flora — Flowers  native  to  the 
Park — Classification  of  flowers  of  the  Park  as  to  colour 
— Grouping  of  flowers  in  certain  neighbourhoods — Brief 
descriptions  of  most  common  flowers  of  the  Park:  false 
forget-me-nots,  western  anemone,  queen's  cup,  northern 
twin-flower,  saxifrage,  mountain  phacelia,  gentians,  hare- 
bell, arnica,  beard  tongue,  larkspur,  gaillardia,  wild 
heliotrope,  butterwort,  fleabane,  columbine,  androsace, 
heath,  heather,  vetches,  spirea,  globeflower,  snow  lily, 
rhododendron,  lady's  slipper,  Indian  paint  brush, 
painted  cup. 

CHAPTER  VIII 

SOME  MOUNTAIN   LAKES     .        .          .         .         .         .139 

Shining  jewels  of  nature — Basins — Reflections — Shape, 
size  and  colour — Ideal  settings — Effect  on  the  tourist — 
Compared  with  European  lakes — Charm  of  Two 
Medicine  Lake — Upper  St.  Mary's  Lake — A  storm  on 
St.  Mary's — An  avenue  of  water  between  stately  moun- 
tains— A  lake  centre  in  Many  Glacier  region — Approach- 
ing Lake  McDermott — Beauty  of  the  lake — Sunset  from 
the  chalet — Iceberg  Lake  with  its  floating  ice — A  won- 
derful picture — Two  jewels  viewed  from  Gunsight  Pass 
— Avalanche  Lake,  the  pearl — The  far-famed  Lake  Mc- 
Donald— Inverted  pictures. 


xii  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  IX 

PAGE 

ON  GLACIERS      ........  152 

The  Great  Ice  Age  —  Glaciers  of  Glacier  National 
Park  —  Cirques  —  Geological  survey  of  glaciers  of  the 
Park  —  Principal  glaciers  of  the  Park  —  Accessibility  of 
Blackfeet  Glacier  —  Leaving  Gunsight  Chalets  for  Black- 
feet  Glacier  —  Description  of  the  glacier  —  Crossing  the 
western  lobe  —  A  sudden  fright  —  Crevasses  and  composi- 
tions of  ice  —  Glacial  brooks. 


CHAPTER  X 

TYPES  OF  TOURISTS      .         .         .         .         .         .         .164 

Interesting  place  to  study  types  —  A  welcome  from 
the  Stars  and  Stripes  —  The  habitual  hotel  dweller  — 
"Honey-Mooners"  —  "Clinging-vine"  variety  —  Lost  to  the 
world  —  Nature  lovers  —  The  Tenderfoot  —  "Omega  Tau" 
company  —  Various  specimens  —  True  appreciation  in  the 
tourist. 


CHAPTER  XI 

A  DAY  WITH  THE  BLACKFEET      .         .         .         .         .174 

Region  teeming  with  legends  —  The  name  Blackfeet  — 
Roving  buffalo  hunters  —  Character  of  the  Blackfeet  — 
Primitive  customs  —  Religion  —  A  visit  to  Browning 
—  Police  headquarters  —  Chiefs  —  Indian  toggery  —  Yellow 
Owl  makes  medicine  —  The  "Sun  Woman"  —  Re-enacting 
past  deeds  —  Bear  Chief  —  The  Grass  Dance  —  The  Scalp 
Dance  —  Thoughts  in  the  twilight  —  Opening  the  sacred 
Medicine  Bundle  —  Reaching  out  toward  God. 


CHAPTER  XII 

SOME  BLACKFEET  LEGENDS  AND  INDIAN  NAMES    .         .  191 

The  oral  literature  of  the  Blackfeet  —  Compared  with 
legends  of  distant  tribes  —  Translations  of  Mr.  George 
Bird  Grinnell  and  Mr.  J.  W.  Schultz—  The  legends  of 


CONTENTS  xiii 

PAQl 

St.  Mary's  region — Legend  of  Going-to-the-Sun  Mt. — 
Legend  of  Chief  Mt. — Legend  of  Two  Medicine  region 
— Legend  of  Rising  Wolf  Mt. — Indian  name. 

CHAPTER  XIII 

BLACKFEET   HISTORICAL   PICTOGRAPHS         .         .         .  208 

The  mural  canvases  in  the  Many  Glacier  Hotel — By 
whom  made — How  translated — Interpretation  of  pic- 
tograph  made  by  South  Piegan  Indian  chiefs — Inter- 
pretation of  paintings  made  by  Blackfeet  Indian  chiefs. 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

FAGH 

MORNING  EAGLE  FALLS,  PIEGAN  PASS  REGION  .  Frontispiece 
Two  MEDICINE  CAMP         ......       38 

Two  MEDICINE  LAKE         ......       38 

GoiNG-TO-THE-SuN   MOUNTAIN   .  ....          42 

MANY  GLACIER  HOTEL  ON  LAKE  MCDERMOTT  .  48 
LAKE  MCDERMOTT  AND  GRINNELL  MOUNTAIN  .  48 
THE  START  FROM  CAMP  .  .  .  .  .58 

NEW  AUTOMOBILE  ROAD,  MANY  GLACIER  CAMP  .  72 
LAKE  LOUISE  AND  GUNSIGHT  PASS.  MOUNT  JACKSON  82 

ON  THE  RIGHT     ....... 

LOOKING  SOUTHEAST  PROM  TRIPLE  DIVIDE  MOUNTAIN  90 
FOLLOWING  UP  THE  HUNTERS — CUT  BANKS  VICINITY  98 
TOURISTS  ON  PIEGAN  PASS  TRAIL,  GOULD  MOUNTAIN 

IN  THE  BACKGROUND  .  .  .  .  .108 
WILD  FLOWERS  NEAR  CUT  BANK  CAMP  .  .118; 
ST.  MARY'S  LAKE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .142 

CAMP  AT  ST.  MARY'S  LAKE 142 

ICEBERG  LAKE     .  .         .         .         .         .         .150 

AVALANCHE  LAKE      .        .         .         .         .         .         .150 

BLACKFEET    GLACIER         ......     158 

BLACKFEET  INDIAN  CAMP  AT  CUT  BANKS  .  .  202 
A  PIEGAN  MOTHER 226 


GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 


GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

CHAPTER  I 

NATURE'S  GREAT  PLAY-GROUND 

fTHHE  Glacier  National  Park  may  well  be  de- 
A  fined  as  a  great  play-ground  formed  and 
equipped  by  the  powerful  forces  of  nature.  It 
is  a  veritable  "little  paradise"  filled  with  scenic 
beauties  which  can  but  fill  the  tourist  with  vigour, 
with  a  deeper  love  of  life  and  nature,  and  with  a 
purer  and  more  healthy  mind.  Any  play-ground 
which  serves  to  develop  these  qualities  in  one, 
thereby  increasing  his  power  for  efficiency,  ful- 
fils its  mission  in  the  fullest  and  best  sense. 

In  1910  President  Taft  signed  the  bill  which 
had  been  passed  by  Congress,  creating  this  great 
wonder-place  as  a  national  park,  thus  giving  to 
the  people  of  our  country  a  permanent  play- 
ground which  possesses  a  charm  and  fascination 
for  all  nature-lovers  and  is  easily  accessible  to  all. 

Glacier  Park  is  located  in  the  northwestern 

part  of  Montana  on  the  main  line  of  the  Great 

19 


20      GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

Northern  Railroad.  Its  boundaries  are  the  Cana- 
dian border  on  the  north,  the  Blackfeet  Indian 
Reservation  on  the  east,  the  Great  Northern 
Railroad  on  the  south  and  the  Flathead  River 
on  the  west.  This  great  "mountain  land"  park 
covers  an  area  of  over  1400  square  miles  or  about 
900,000  acres  of  the  most  picturesque  and  mag- 
nificent portion  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  com- 
monly termed  and  structurally  so,  the  "back- 
bone" of  the  American  continent. 

That  part  of  the  Rockies  traversing  the  Park 
consists  of  a  very  broad  range,  or,  as  some  re- 
gard it,  two  chains,  an  eastern  and  a  western 
division  of  mountain  masses  extending  in  a  north- 
westerly direction.  The  Continental  Divide,  in 
true  serpentine  fashion,  follows  the  crest  of  the 
eastern  chain  from  the  southern  boundary  to  a 
little  beyond  Ahern  Pass,  where  it  crosses  to  the 
western  chain,  thence  continuing  on  and  into  the 
Canadian  Rockies.  This  "roof  of  America"  is 
marked  throughout  its  course  by  giant  peaks, 
towering  from  8000  to  10,000  feet  in  height, 
which  stand  like  sentinels  to  guard  enchanted 
land. 

It  might  be  well  at  this  point  to  make  refer- 
ence to  Flattop  Mountain,  which  lies  enclosed 
within  the  crests  of  these  two  chains  and  just 


NATURE'S  PLAY-GROUND       21 

south  of  where  the  Continental  Divide  crosses 
from  one  to  the  other.  The  region  thus  rimmed, 
though  a  mountain  itself,  6500  feet  in  height,  is 
comparatively  level  as  its  name  implies,  and  in 
itself  forms  a  most  beautiful  little  natural  park. 
The  "walking  tourist"  in  search  of  a  camping  site 
could  find  no  more  attractive  and  alluring  spot 
than  this,  with  its  rolling  surface  and  open  forest, 
on  which  to  "pitch  his  tent."  Here,  surrounded 
by  snow-capped  mountains  and  within  reach  of 
sparkling  streams,  one  might  feel  that  he  had 
reached  the  land  where  "it  seemed  always  aft- 
ernoon." 

The  approach  from  the  east  to  the  Park  is  most 
abrupt  because  of  the  extreme  ruggedness  of  the 
mountains  on  that  side.  The  traveller,  after  rid- 
ing many  wearisome  hours  over  treeless  prairies, 
suddenly  becomes  aware  of  a  change  in  the  land- 
scape, which  is  rapidly  giving  way  from  the  mo- 
notonous stretch  of  the  plains  to  a  view  of  varied 
beauty.  Before  him,  piled  high  in  majestic 
grandeur,  lie  the  mighty,  silent  mountains,  many 
of  which  are  snow-mantled. 

With  this  vision  now  constantly  before  him, 
neither  the  tourist  to  the  Park,  nor  the  trans- 
continental traveller  who  now  looks  out  with  per- 
haps a  little  more  interest  as  he  is  passing  through 


22      GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

this  region,  has  the  faintest  conception  that  be- 
yond these  "shining  mountains"  are  stretches  of 
the  most  superb  and  sublime  scenery — more 
mountains,  deep  canyons,  beautiful  lakes,  glis- 
tening glaciers,  sombre  forests,  and  tumbling  wa- 
ter-falls, all  representing  the  work  of  the  great 
forces  of  nature,  which  are  forever  controlled 
by  the  Great  Master  Builder. 

This  great  play-ground  is  waiting  for  the  peo- 
ple to  come  and  enjoy  its  beauties  and  to  indulge 
in  actual  "sports"  within  its  borders.  Two  sta- 
tions give  entrance  to  the  Park, — an  eastern  gate- 
way at  Glacier  Park  Station  and  a  western  at 
Belton.  The  main  entrance,  however,  is  the  east- 
ern one,  as  this  point  marks  the  beginning  of  the 
Automobile  Highway  which  connects  this  place 
with  the  Many-Glacier  region. 

Trips  into  the  interior  may  be  made  in  any 
manner  the  tourist  desires,  whether  by  automo- 
bile, by  horse-back,  or  by  walking.  To  see  the 
Park  in  its  entirety  one  must  go  either  by  saddle- 
horse  or  walk,  as  it  is  only  by  one  or  the  other 
of  these  two  ways  that  the  ascent  of  a  lofty  moun- 
tain can  be  made,  or  a  climb  to  view  some  glacier. 

The  scenic  attractions  of  Glacier  Park  are  so 
many  and  so  varied  that  they  cannot  adequately 
be  described.  Within  its  borders  are  more  than 


NATURE'S  PLAY-GROUND        23 

eighty  glaciers,  from  which  fact  the  Park  receives 
its  name.  While  these  are  small  compared  with 
Alaskan  glaciers  and  even  inferior  in  size  to  those 
of  the  Alps,  yet  their  setting  amidst  such  unsur- 
passed mountain  scenery  is  sufficient  to  stimu- 
late the  tourist  to  an  effort  to  see  them.  Black- 
feet  Glacier,  lying  within  the  shadows  of  Mt. 
Jackson  and  Blackfeet  Mountain,  is  the  largest. 
From  Gunsight  Camp  one  can  easily  walk  to  the 
edge  of  this  glacier,  and  at  certain  times,  with 
guides  who  must  be  equipped  with  ropes  and 
alpen-stocks,  may  venture  upon  its  surface.  As 
one  looks  upon  these  great  ice-masses  he  realises 
that  these  are  the  mighty  tools  which  have  sculp- 
tured the  mountains  into  such  fantastic  shapes, 
which  have  fashioned  the  valleys,  and  formed  the 
hollows  in  which  beautiful  lakes  lie. 

The  lakes  form  another  source  of  attraction 
and  in  this  the  Park  is  not  lacking,  for  there  are 
many  of  them,  numbering  over  250,  all  varying  in 
size,  shape  and  colour.  No  more  beautiful  view 
is  imaginable  than  that  which  meets  the  eye  of  the 
tourist,  as,  from  some  high,  steep,  zig-zag  trail 
on  the  side  of  a  huge  mountain,  he  looks  far  into 
the  valley  below  and  there,  surrounded  by  snow- 
capped mountains  for  a  background,  or  hemmed 
in  by  forests  of  dark  pine,  a  lovely  lake  lies  shim- 


24      GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

mering  in  the  sunlight,  unsurpassed  in  beauty 
and  brilliancy.  No  jewel  with  its  setting  of  the 
most  exquisite  design  can  rival  this  gem  of  the 
mountains  nestling  in  its  hollow. 

Among  so  many  lakes  those  not  to  be  missed 
by  the  traveller  are  Lake  McDonald,  the  largest ; 
Upper  St.  Mary  connecting  St.  Mary  Camp  with 
Going-to-the-Sun  Camp ;  McDermott  and  Altyn 
linked  by  a  small  creek;  beautiful  Grinnell  re- 
ceiving its  waters  from  the  glacier  and  mountain 
of  the  same  name;  Gunsight  Lake,  like  a  small 
mirror;  Two-Medicine  Lake;  and  Iceberg  Lake 
with  its  phenomenal  feature  of  icebergs  floating 
about  in  the  water. 

While  all  of  these  lakes  are  quite  generally 
alike  in  that  each  rests  in  a  pocket,  surrounded 
in  part  or  wholly  by  towering  rock-walls,  and 
when  unruffled  by  any  breeze,  presents  a  glass- 
like  surface  which  truthfully  reflects  every  natu- 
ral feature  within  its  reach,  yet,  too,  each  has  its 
own  peculiar  characteristics  marking  an  individu- 
ality as  truly  as  each  person  possesses,  and  which 
distinguishes  it  from  every  other. 

Nature  has  been  most  generous  in  supplying 
this  play-ground  with  music  in  various  degrees 
of  volume,  tone-colour,  and  sweetness.  What 
pipe-organ  can  approach  in  effect  the  thunder- 


NATURE'S  PLAY-GROUND        25 

ous  roar  of  Morning  Eagle  Falls  near  Piegan 
Pass,  or  of  Golden  Stair  Waterfall,  giving  forth 
a  different  tone  with  each  successive  leap  over  the 
various  ledges,  and  yet  producing  a  harmonious 
whole  as  it  falls  upon  the  ear  of  the  traveller, 
following  the  trail  to  Iceberg  Lake,  or,  again, 
the  rushing  water  at  Trick  Falls  with  its  precipi- 
tous plunge,  a  view  of  which  amply  repays  one 
for  the  time  taken  from  the  main  roadway  to  fol- 
low a  little  side  trail  for  a  half-mile  through  the 
woods. 

Added  to  these  may  be  heard  the  musical  flow 
of  countless  streams  falling  down  the  mountain 
sides  and  breaking  into  little  ripples  over  the 
pebbly  paths;  the  gushing  of  a  crystal  stream 
from  some  subterranean  tunnel ;  and  the  on-rush 
of  a  torrent  through  some  deep  canyon. 

Over  and  above  all  these,  the  feathered  song- 
sters of  the  air  pour  forth  an  abundance  of  music 
not  to  be  surpassed  by  instrument  nor  human 
voice. 

"And  sometimes  in  the  distant  woods  apart, 
The  tall  trees  whisper,  heart  to  heart," 

in  such  sighing  accents  that  one  can  only  wonder 
if  the  great  pine  forest  is  wailing  forth  a  requiem 


26      GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

for  those  natives  of  the  region  who  have  passed 
beyond  and  away. 

For  "thrillers"  the  Park  has  its  "skyland" 
trails.  The  most  venturesome  may  have  his  fill 
of  excitement  as  he  follows  one  of  these  "rib- 
bons" stretched  along  and  across  the  Divide.  It 
may  wind  through  a  beautiful  forest  emitting  a 
delicious  fragrance,  with  here  and  there  open 
stretches  upon  which  Dame  Nature  has  spread 
floral  rugs  of  various  beautiful  colours  and  de- 
signs; then  suddenly  at  a  bend  change  into 
"switches,"  each  turn  taking  one  higher  and 
higher,  until  it  leads  around  the  shoulder  of  a 
mountain  in  a  thread-like  line  which  seems  to 
the  rider  or  walker  (at  this  point  of  progress 
many  brave  "riders"  become  "walkers")  that  it 
becomes  more  narrow  at  every  step  and  he  feels 
a  most  affectionate  regard  for  the  "mountain"- 
side  of  a  trail,  as  now  and  then  a  quick  glance 
over  the  edge  reveals  a  precipice  whose  walls 
are  almost  vertical  and  measuring  3000  or  4000 
feet  in  height. 

Glacier  Park  has  its  own  "zoo"  in  a  natural 
way.  Here  in  native  haunts  may  be  found  the 
grizzly  bear,  the  black  bear,  the  elk,  the  moose, 
and  the  deer.  Along  the  edges  of  cliffs  the  •moun- 
tain-goat and  the  mountain-sheep  may  be  seen 


NATURE'S  PLAY-GROUND        27 

skilfully  picking  their  way  along,  fearing  no  in- 
trusion at  that  height.  Occasionally  the  tracks 
of  a  mountain-lion  are  seen — mute  evidence  that 
he  may  be  lurking  near.  These  animals  are  all 
protected  by  law.  Fish  abound  in  many  of  the 
lakes  and  streams,  and  certain  varieties  are  said 
to  be  "gamey"  in  resisting  the  efforts  of  the 
angler  to  a  closer  acquaintance,  even  though  he 
be  provided  with  a  license. 

Rising  above  and  beyond  all  these  other  fea- 
tures of  the  place,  and  excelling  all  in  grandeur, 
are  the  mountains  themselves,  forming  a  setting 
and  background  for  these.  Some  lie  piled  up  in 
almost  solitary  grandeur  in  an  attitude  suggest- 
ing repose;  others  are  forbidding  in  aspect  and 
appear  bristling  with  resentfulness  the  approach 
of  the  mountain-climbers.  The  beautifully  vari- 
ous coloured  strata  of  the  summit  of  this  peak 
catches  the  glints  of  the  sunset  and  is  thrown  in 
bold  relief  against  a  cloudless  sky,  while  its  neigh- 
bour lifts  its  white  crest  heavenward  in  matchless 
beauty.  No  two  are  alike.  All  are  wonderful 
and  represent  the  greatest  architecture  of  the 
world. 

In  this  great  outdoor  institute  of  art  the  geo- 
logical student  may  find  a  field  for  study ;  the  art- 
ist, a  panorama  of  colour  and  design;  the  mu- 


28      GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

sician,  an  inspiration  for  composition  and  expres- 
sion; the  architect,  a  study  of  nature's  balance 
and  construction ;  the  sportsman,  a  place  in  which 
to  ride>  motor  and  fish ;  the  tired  brain-worker,  a 
source  of  mental  uplift;  and  the  everyday  com- 
mon nature-lover  unburdened  with  analytical 
ideas,  a  wholesome,  clean  place  for  pure  enjoy- 
ment, with  an  environment  of  the  most  majestic 
beauties  and  wonders  of  nature,  which  are  only 
the  expression  of  God's  handiwork. 


CHAPTER  II 

HOTELS  AND   CHALETS 

IN  perfect  harmony  with  their  setting,  deep  in 
among  the  mountains  of  Glacier  National 
Park,  are  the  hotels,  chalet-villages,  and  tepee- 
camps.  They  form  not  the  least  interesting  fea- 
ture of  this  mountain  land.  True,  some  who  are 
looking  for  a  wilderness  in  their  visit  to  this  great 
play-ground,  and  who  carry  their  "hotels"  in  a 
"rucksack"  on  their  backs,  consider  these  accom- 
modations an  unwelcome  luxury  and  an  unneces- 
sary comfort,  if  not  a  sacrilege. 

But  in  every  play-ground  are  there  not  those 
who  care  only  to  look  on,  as  well  as  those  who 
play  for  all  there  is  in  the  game?  So  here  in 
Glacier  National  Park  are  those  who  are  satis- 
fied to  look  from  a  distance  upon  the  panorama 
of  lofty  peaks,  as  well  as  those  who  brave  the 
dangers  and  discomforts  of  mountain  climbs. 
Countless  thousands  who  do  not  care  to  hike  over 
skyland  trails  by  day  and  at  night  pitch  their 
tent  under  the  stars,  can  enjoy  the  beauties  of 

29 


30      GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

the  mirror  lakes ;  canyons  and  cliffs ;  streams  and 
water-falls;  and  evergreen  forests. 

For  many  who  have  come  afar  to  look  upon  or 
climb  among  these  crags  and  peaks,  it  is  a  charm 
of  this  wonderland,  and  more,  a  contribution  to 
their  happiness,  to  find  these  chalet-groups  and 
hotels  where  one  may  sit  down  to  a  well-cooked 
dinner,  enjoy  a  hot  bath,  and  sleep  in  a  clean, 
comfortable  bed.  After  a  long  day's  tramp  or  a 
hard  ride  there  is  no  more  welcoming  cheer  than 
a  charming  chalet.  Many  a  rainy  day  will  be 
encountered  in  this  land  of  mountain  walls. 
Where,  then,  is  one  better  off  than  reading  be- 
fore a  blazing,  crackling  log  in  a  huge  fireplace ; 
or  enjoying  the  wonderful  cloud  effects  from  the 
windows  of  a  rustic  lodge  ? 

Evening  was  drawing  on  and  long  twilight 
shadows  were  creeping  softly  from  the  valleys 
to  take  possession  of  the  snowy  peaks  of  the 
Park,  when  the  "Oriental  Limited"  brought  us 
into  Glacier  Park  Station,  the  eastern  and,  from 
its  geographical  location,  the  main  entrance  to 
that  summer  play-ground,  within  the  gigantic 
walls  of  which  is  to  be  found  some  of  the  grand- 
est scenery  of  the  world. 

Here  just  beyond  the  Park  entrance  portal, 
built  of  huge  fir  logs,  is  Glacier  Park  Hotel,  one 


HOTELS  AND  CHALETS          31 

of  the  most  magnificent  and  most  unique  moun- 
tain hotels  of  America.  The  many  electric  lights 
of  the  hotel  and  grounds  answered  one  another 
across  the  growing  darkness  and  gleamed  like 
huge  fire-flies,  as  we  passed  along  the  gravelled 
walk  that  leads  up  the  rising  ground  on  which 
the  hotel  is  built. 

Even  as  we  walked  on,  the  shadows  grew  upon 
the  hills,  and  we  paused  to  look  upon  that  ram- 
part wall,  the  lure  of  which,  from  the  first,  seems 
irresistible.  The  kindling  of  that  mysterious  aft- 
erglow dimmed  the  light  of  stars,  and,  silhouetted 
against  the  western  sky,  were  the  snow-capped 
mountains  that  stand  out  like  sentinels  to  guard 
that  region  of  wild  beauty  beyond — the  true 
mountaineers'  fascinating  field  of  exploration 
and  enjoyment. 

We  cannot  readily  forget  the  first  impression 
received  of  the  setting  of  this  great  hostelry,  as 
we  saw  it  from  the  wide  verandas  the  next  sunlit 
morning.  Delightful  was  the  landscape,  bounded 
westward  by  the  lovely  forested  hills  beyond 
which  rise  abruptly  in  the  high  but  gracefully 
varied  outlines  of  the  Lewis  Range,  Mt.  Henry, 
Squaw  Mt.,  Red  Crow  Mt.,  Bearhead  Mt.,  and 
Bison  Mt.  To  the  east  as  far  as  eye  could  see 


32      GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

stretched  the  flowerful  plains  of  the  Blackfeet 
Indian  Reservation. 

One  hundred  and  sixty  acres  comprise  the 
grounds  of  the  hotel.  These  in  landscape  garden 
effect  are  laid  out  in  close-cut  lawns,  shrubbery, 
flower-beds,  garden  walks  and  tennis  courts.  The 
rushing  ripple  of  Midvale  Creek  comes  to  one's 
ears  as  it  surges  down  through  a  timbered  vale 
just  beyond  the  hotel,  where  most  picturesquely 
a  group  of  Blackfeet  Indian  tepees  are  pitched. 

The  "Great  Log  Lodge,"  as  the  Blackfeet  call 
the  "Glacier  Park,"  most  ingeniously  typifies  the 
atmosphere  and  traditions  of  this  Indian  land  of 
the  eagle  and  the  Rocky  Mountain  goat.  Built 
in  rustic  Swiss  style  of  architecture,  it  differs 
from  any  hotel  of  the  Alps.  The  giant  forest 
trees  of  the  Northwest  have  contributed  mainly 
in  the  construction  of  the  outer  walls.  More  than 
fifty  huge  fir  tree  columns  support  the  thousands 
of  feet  of  outside  piazzas  and  galleries  of  this 
mammoth  mountain  caravansary.  The  ground 
plan  features  two  wings — the  western  of  four 
stories  and  the  eastern  of  three  stories,  linked  by 
a  sun  lounge  ninety  feet  long.  These  sections 
with  the  spacious  kitchen  annex  give  a  total 
length  to  the  building  of  nearly  six  hundred  and 
fifty  feet. 


HOTELS  AND  CHALETS          33 

But  the  chief  interest  of  the  "Glacier  Park" 
lies  in  the  beautiful  interior.  Here  again  one 
stands  in  admiration  at  the  simple  charm  yet 
grand  dimensions  achieved  by  both  architect  and 
builder.  From  the  moment  that  he  enters  the 
visitor  finds  a  succession  of  surprises  awaiting 
and  a  complete  satisfaction  prevailing  him. 

A  great  and  impressive  feature  of  this  wonder- 
ful hotel  is  the  "forest  lobby."  All  tourists  will 
have  delight  for  their  eyes  on  entering  this  public 
room.  The  general  effect,  especially  if  seen  un- 
der the  spell  of  the  beautiful  nightly  illumination, 
is  wonderfully  fascinating.  Most  remarkably,  in 
architectural  details,  decorations  and  furnishings 
has  the  true  spirit  of  this  high  mountain  world 
been  achieved. 

What  strikes  one  as  most  unusual  is  the  great 
colonnade  of  fir  trees  on  which  the  bark  has  been 
retained,  each  weighing  from  fifteen  to  eighteen 
tons,  and  from  four  to  five  feet  in  diameter,  which 
support  the  interior  galleries  that  overlook  the 
lobby.  These  giant  columns  rise  to  the  skylight 
set  in  the  ceiling  sixty  feet  high.  The  rafters, 
gallery  railings,  office  desks,  counters,  and  great 
lamp-stands  are  all  fashioned  from  huge  tree 
trunks.  Throughout  the  lobby  the  fragrant 
"Christmas  trees"  and  huge  flower  baskets,  filled 


34      GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

with  the  lovely  wild  flowers  of  this  region,  most 
truly  accentuate  the  "forest"  scheme. 

The  walls  are  adorned  with  trophies  of  the 
chase,  and  our  eyes  are  caught  away  by  the  price- 
less collection  of  antlers  and  skins  of  the  big 
game  that  was  hunted  here  in  the  days  gone  by. 
We  noted  the  cinnamon,  black  and  grizzly  bears ; 
the  Big  Horn  sheep ;  the  Rocky  Mountain  goat ; 
the  deer;  the  elk;  the  moose;  and  the  mountain 
lion ;  as  well  as  the  ghostly  skulls  of  the  bison  and 
the  only  existing  specimen  of  the  far-famed 
"wimpus"  of  Glacier  National  Park. 

The  lovely  forest  browns,  greens,  and  greys  of 
the  walls,  pillars,  and  balcony  railings  serve  as 
a  most  effective  background  for  the  numerous 
specimens  of  Blackfeet  handicraft  as  displayed 
in  gay  coloured  rugs,  blankets,  and  basketry. 

The  open  camp  fire  made  of  a  great  bed  of 
stones  on  the  lobby  floor,  the  strikingly  beautiful 
frieze  in  oils,  showing  beauty  spots  of  the  Park, 
the  countless  totem  poles,  and  on  the  second  gal- 
lery, the  buffalo  skin  tepee,  which  for  centuries 
was  the  Council  Lodge  of  the  Blackfeet  and  now 
a  gift  of  that  tribe  to  the  hotel,  are  noteworthy 
features  of  decoration. 

None  of  the  creature  comforts  and  luxuries 
is  wanting  in  the  "Glacier  Park."  The  sun 


HOTELS  AND  CHALETS          35 

lounge  with  its  observation  windows  command- 
ing the  wonderful  panorama  of  peaks  and  chang- 
ing clouds;  the  music  room;  the  spacious  dining 
room;  the  grill;  the  plunge  pool;  the  emergency 
hospital;  the  four  hundred  guest  rooms,  more 
than  a  hundred  equipped  with  private  bath ;  the 
electrically  equipped  kitchen;  the  laundry;  the 
fire  station;  the  storehouse;  the  steam  heating 
and  telephone  service,  all  are  familiar  knowledge 
to  the  many  thousands  who  have  enjoyed  the 
hospitality  of  the  "Glacier  Park." 

This  hotel  is  the  rendezvous  for  most  of  the 
tourists  through  the  Park,  who  here  arrange  for 
their  tours  into  the  interior  by  auto-stage,  launch, 
and  saddle-horse  service,  or  plan  for  tours  "over 
trails  afoot." 

The  Automobile  Highway  from  which  branch 
the  chief  trails  for  horseback  tours  begins  at 
the  "Glacier  Park,"  and  penetrates  fifty-five 
miles  deep  into  the  mountains  to  the  Many  Gla- 
cier region.  Exceptionally  interesting  side  trips 
from  the  hotel  may  be  made  to  St.  Mary's  Camp, 
Two  Medicine  Camp,  and  Cut  Bank  Camp.  The 
ascent  of  Mt.  Henry  will  prove  a  most  enjoyable 
"first  attempt"  into  the  interior. 

The  chalet  groups,  resembling  small  Alpine 
villages,  are  scattered  throughout  the  Park. 


36      GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

Studding  the  hillsides  or  lying  embedded  in  some 
mountain  hollow,  these  rustic  lodges  add  greatly 
to  the  picturesqueness  of  the  scenery.  The  pine 
logs  and  timber  of  which  they  are  constructed 
acquire  a  rich  brown  colour  from  the  elements, 
thus  contrasting  well  with  the  bright  green  of 
the  meadows  or  the  sombre  tones  of  the  upland 
timber. 

The  individual  structures  of  these  groups  are 
modelled  after  the  Swiss  chalets,  being  broad  and 
low.  The  wide  roofs  are  of  gentle  slopes  and 
are  formed  of  sheets  of  pine  wood.  Upon  these 
large  pine  shingles  are  laid  heavy  stones  in  or- 
der that  the  roof  may  not  be  torn  away  during 
the  fierce  gales  of  winter.  Around  the  outside 
walls  of  some  of  the  chalets  run  galleries,  shel- 
tered by  broad  eaves,  which  spring  out  well  be- 
yond the  sides.  These  quaint  and  pleasing  houses 
are  as  comfortable  inside  as  they  are  charming 
without.  Most  of  the  lounging  and  dormitory 
chalets  have  massive  stone  fireplaces.  In  general 
each  chalet  group  features  a  dmmg-commissary- 
lounging  chalet,  around  which  are  grouped  dor- 
mitories of  various  dimensions. 

Life  is  far  from  conventional  after  one  has 
penetrated  the  far  recesses  of  the  Park,  yet  in 
these  mountain  chalets  we  found  in  the  service 


HOTELS  AND  CHALETS          37 

and  cuisine  everything  harmonising  with  those 
conditions  that  make  the  joyful,  care-free,  out- 
door existence  in  Glacier  National  Park. 

In  the  land  of  one  of  the  favourite  legends 
which  the  Blackfeet  have  preserved  to  the  present 
day,  a  scene  of  surprising  variety,  interest,  and 
beauty  awaits  the  tourist  at  Two  Medicine  Camp. 
Close  to  the  water's  edge,  at  the  lower  end  of  Two 
Medicine  Lake,  in  a  park-like  clearing  is  this 
charming  chalet  group.  To  the  east,  crowded 
upon  the  camp,  rise  dark  timbered  masses  piled 
up  ridge  upon  ridge. 

The  eye  rejoices  in  the  lovely  blue  lake  in 
whose  mirrored  surface  are  reflected  superb  Mt. 
Rockwell,  Rising  Wolf,  canopied  in  clouds,  and 
peak  upon  peak  of  varied  outline  and  colour 
standing  out  in  every  possible  effect  of  sunshine 
and  shadow. 

Evening  at  Two  Medicine,  the  time  for  the 
full  glory  of  the  mountain  peaks,  is  a  treasure 
in  the  storehouse  of  memory.  Shadows  stretch 
far  across  the  lake  and  begin  to  creep  gently  up 
the  mountain  shoulders.  Day  has  passed  for 
some  time  from  the  valley.  The  afterglow  be- 
comes intensified;  yet  all  colours  and  forms  are 
1  blurred  and  blotted  out.  Like  slumber  songs 
the  grey  mists  that  rise  from  the  pinewoods  em- 


38      GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

brace  the  twilight  slopes.  The  solemn  peace  of 
evening  rests  over  all. 

For  a  summer  holiday  Two  Medicine  Camp 
offers  several  attractive  outings  in  the  way  of 
one-day  trips  to  Dawson  Pass,  Appistoki  Peak, 
Trick  Falls,  Two  Medicine  Pass  and  Pumpelly 
Pillar. 

Should  the  tourist  proceed  northward  by  trail 
from  Two  Medicine  Camp,  the  next  chalet  group 
encountered  would  be  Cut  Bank  Camp  which 
may  also  be  reached  from  the  "Glacier  Park"  by 
automobile.  Here  in  a  wooded  mountain  vale, 
sheltered  by  mighty  mountain  crags,  on  the  bank 
of  a  rushing  stream  of  cold  and  crystal  clear  wa- 
ter is  the  angler's  paradise.  In  Cut  Bank  Creek 
lurk  the  cutthroat,  the  fighting  mountain  trout. 
The  stream,  which  in  some  places  boils  and  surges 
over  rocks  or  flows  gently  over  a  gravelled  bed, 
winds  its  channel  close  to  the  chalets,  and  affords 
many  an  opportunity  for  the  test  of  a  fisherman's 
skill. 

But  it  is  not  alone  the  fisherman  who  finds 
keen  sport  during  a  few  days'  stay  at  Cut  Bank 
Camp.  The  adventurous  mountaineer  may  re- 
new his  Alpine  experiences  by  attempting  the 
ascent  of  Mt.  St.  Nicholas,  which,  as  far  as 
known,  has  never  been  ascended.  A  side  trip 


TWO    MEDICINE    LAKE 


HOTELS  AND  CHALETS          39 

should  be  planned  to  Cut  Bank  Pass  which  com- 
mands grand  and  rugged  scenery  as  well  as  gen- 
tler views  of  great  patches  of  flowery  meadows 
and  sun-dappled  forest  groves.  By  horseback  or 
afoot  mountain  climbers  may  make  the  ascent 
of  Triple  Divide  Peak,  six  miles  distant.  There, 
verily  on  the  "Roof  of  the  Continent,"  besides 
having  one  of  the  grandest  panoramas  of  peaks 
of  the  Park,  one  will  have  the  unusual  experi- 
ence of  seeing  the  point  of  separation  of  the  head- 
waters of  three  oceans — the  Atlantic,  the  Arctic, 
and  the  Pacific. 

Encompassed  by  some  of  the  highest  and  most 
rugged  peaks,  lies  far-famed  Lake  St.  Mary's, 
at  opposite  ends  of  which  are  located  two  of  the 
most  pretentious  chalet  groups  of  the  Park, 
namely,  St.  Mary's  Chalets  and  Going-to-the- 
Sun  Chalets. 

St.  Mary's  Camp  is  reached  directly  by  the 
Automobile  Highway,  and  is  one  of  the  most 
popular  stopping  places  in  the  Park.  It  is  easy 
of  access,  although  it  lies  in  among  giant  peaks 
of  a  mighty  chain  of  the  Rockies;  it  offers  ac- 
commodations for  rest,  comfort  and  recreation 
under  unusually  delightful  conditions;  and  it 
affords  the  most  excellent  opportunities  both 
for  delightful  excursions  and  strenuous  outings. 


40      GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

Framed  in  by  the  dark  and  sombre  hues  of  the 
primeval  forest  and  lapped  by  the  blue  waves  of 
the  sunny  mountain  bound  St.  Mary's  Lake,  this 
camp  is  indeed  a  lovely  spot. 

Across  the  lake  the  view  of  mountain  majesty 
changes  with  every  hour  of  the  day,  now  clear, 
now  canopied  in  clouds,  now  hidden  in  a  world 
of  mist,  and  now  flushed  in  colour  or  gleaming 
in  silver,  all  mirrored  in  the  clear  depths  of  St. 
Mary's,  and  challenges  the  eye  and  imagination. 

The  walks  and  trails  at  St.  Mary's,  for  those 
who  do  not  mind  the  upward  climbing,  are  as 
varied  as  they  are  beautiful.  The  true  nature 
lover  and  the  disciples  of  Izaak  Walton  will  make 
the  Red  Eagle  region  their  first  objective. 

Three  hours  by  trail  we  mounted  through 
lower  regions  of  rich  meadows  and  sap-green 
poplar  groves  to  that  high  sheltered  upland  val- 
ley whose  slopes  are  dark  with  pine  where  wood- 
peckers laughed  aloud  and  warblers  thrilled  from 
the  topmost  boughs.  Silver  shining  peaks  rise 
above  bare  rock  wall. 

He  who  would  see  Alpine  flora  should  wan- 
der here.  The  verdant  turf  in  this  wildflower 
garden  was  thickly  jewelled  with  buttercups, 
anemones,  chickweed,  daisies,  lark-spur,  and  gen- 


HOTELS  AND  CHALETS          41 

tians,  while  whole  banks  of  blue  forget-me-nots 
seemed  like  blue  ribbons  strewn  about. 

Red  Eagle  Lake,  on  the  rocky  shore  of  which 
we  built  our  fire  and  ate  our  lunch,  is  a  fresh, 
green  body  of  water,  born  of  the  glacial  streams 
that  plunge  joyfully,  in  countless  silver  streaks 
down  the  mighty  rock  faces  and  furrowed  pyra- 
mids. This  is  the  home  of  the  cutthroat  and 
Dolly  Varden  trout.  Enthusiastic  Nimrods 
come  here  to  try  their  skill,  for  it  is  another  fish- 
erman's paradise. 

For  once  we  decided  to  forego  the  joys  of 
horseback  riding  and  take  the  launch  ride  to  Go- 
ing-to-the-Sun  Chalets.  Our  faithful  greys  were 
"dead-headed"  over  the  trail  that  follows  the 
north  margin  of  St.  Mary's  Lake.  Donald  was 
to  bring  them  around  and  meet  us  the  following 
day. 

As  the  little  steamer  cleaved  its  swift  pas- 
sage across  the  lake,  a  succession  of  glorious  and 
perfect  scenes  opened  to  our  view.  On  all  sides 
rose  steep  multicoloured  ridges  that  reared  their 
bare  summits  or  snowy  hoods  far  above  the  for- 
ested slopes  rising  from  the  water's  edge.  We 
steamed  through  the  "gate  of  the  hills,"  the  Nar- 
rows, and  then  new  peaks  were  disclosed,  some 
pyramidal,  some  solitary,  some  with  white  gleam- 


42      GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

ing  shoulders,  others  dark  without  snow  or  veg- 
etation, and  still  others  furrowed  by  deep  ravines 
down  which  rope-like  streams  were  hurrying — a 
perfect  labyrinth  of  peaks — and  over  and  above 
all,  the  superb  and  the  incomparable  Going-to- 
the-Sun  Mountain  lifted  its  shining  mass  and 
grey  glittering  rock  against  heaven's  blue. 

Our  boat  landed  at  the  base  of  Goat  Mountain 
in  a  little  cove  formed  at  a  rocky  point  jutting  out 
in  the  lake.  More  than  a  hundred  feet  above  the 
water,  up  the  mountain  slope,  were  sunny  nooks 
where  fir  trees  grew  and  chalets  nestled.  Could 
any  one  be  insensible  to  the  charms  of  this  beauty 
spot?  Nature  in  her  most  heroic  mood  has  here 
wrought  a  scene  of  grandeur  revealing  lengths, 
depths,  heights,  and  colours  that  overwhelm  one 
with  sublimity.  The  lake,  locked  in  the  arms  of 
these  lofty  cliffs,  becomes  a  clear  mirror  when 
the  winds  are  still,  and  one  sees  within  its  sunny 
depths  an  inverted  world  of  sky,  clouds,  and 
proud  mountain  crags. 

Some  delightful  walks  are  possible  for  guests 
at  Going-to-the-Sun.  One  may  wander  along 
secluded  paths  through  fragrant  pine  forests, 
studded  with  wild  flowers  and  full  of  the  music 
of  purling  brooks  and  splashing  waterfalls,  but 
most  tourists  push  on  over  the  trails  to  Gunsight 


GOING-TO-THE-SUN    MOUNTAIN 


HOTELS  AND  CHALETS          43 

Camp,  Gunsight  Pass,  Sperry  Camp,  and  Sperry 
Glacier,  or  over  Piegan  Pass  which  leads  north- 
ward to  the  Many  Glacier  region. 

On  opposite  sides  of  the  Continental  Divide, 
in  the  vicinity  of  Gunsight  Pass,  lie  two  high 
mountain  camps — Gunsight  Chalets  and  Sperry 
Chalets. 

Gunsight  Camp,  situated  at  the  foot  of  Mt. 
Jackson,  owes  much  of  its  fame  to  the  lovely  lake 
on  the  shore  of  which  it  stands.  Gunsight  Lake 
is  of  the  "jewel"  type  of  which  Mr.  W.  T.  Horn- 
aday  says  is  "too  small  to  navigate  and  too  large 
to  be  carried  away  and  mounted  as  jewellery." 
A  more  quiet  and  secluded  spot  one  cannot  find 
in  the  Park.  A  great  peace  prevails.  No  sounds 
rise  out  of  the  depths  and  across  the  chasms,  but 
the  air  seems  full  of  melody — that  illusion  pecul- 
iar to  vast  solitudes.  Nowhere  in  the  Park  did 
we  feel  so  far  away  from  the  outside  world  or 
the  madding  crowd. 

It  matters  not  the  time  of  day,  whether  in  the 
faint  flush  of  the  morning  sky,  the  brilliant  noon, 
the  shadows  of  the  afternoon,  or  the  pale  moon- 
light, every  hour  brings  a  change  of  colouring  to 
the  lovely  pictures  that  make  the  charm  of  Gun- 
sight  Camp. 

Blackfeet  Glacier,  the  largest  glacier  in  the 


44      GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

Park,  is  the  goal  for  many  ambitious  visitors  at 
the  camp. 

By  trail  over  Gunsight  Pass  one  goes  to 
Sperry  Camp,  perched  in  a  glacial  cirque  high  on 
a  mountain  side.  It  is  one  of  the  two  camps  in 
which  the  chalets  are  constructed  of  stone.  The 
lack  of  timber  at  this  high  elevation  necessitated 
the  use  of  stone,  which  architecturally  has  not 
detracted  from  the  picturesqueness  of  the  build- 
ings. 

Although  Sperry  Camp  lacks  the  magnificent 
views  which  make  the  other  camps  so  deservedly 
famous,  the  location  is  a  beautiful  one.  It  over- 
looks the  Canyon  of  Sprague  Creek,  and  far 
in  the  distance  lies  Lake  McDonald. 

There  are  several  points  of  interest  in  the 
vicinity  of  Sperry  Camp,  which  can  be  reached 
easily  by  trail — Lake  McDonald,  Gunsight  Pass, 
Lake  Ellen  Wilson,  Avalanche  Basin  and,  most 
popular  of  all,  Sperry  Glacier  which  means  a 
stout  climb  for  even  experienced  mountaineers. 

High  on  the  Continental  Divide  in  the  Swift 
Current  region  is  Granite  Park  Camp.  The 
chalets,  when  completed,  will  resemble  the  Sperry 
group,  being  constructed  of  stone  gathered 
nearby.  This  camp,  which  is  on  a  high  table 
or  Alpine  park  at  6,000  feet  altitude,  is  an  ideal 


HOTELS  AND  CHALETS          45 

camping  place  and  is  used  as  a  night  camp  by 
travellers  crossing  the  Continental  Divide  by 
way  of  Swift  Current  Pass.  Some  of  the  best 
views  of  the  Park  are  obtained  from  this  eleva- 
tion. 

We  were  greatly  interested  in  the  line  of  pack 
horses  that  were  bringing  up  the  building  ma- 
terial and  provisions  for  the  construction  force. 
The  engineer  under  whose  direction  the  chalets 
were  being  built  informed  us  that  every  bit  of 
the  material  used  in  the  construction,  except  the 
stone,  was  brought  from  Many  Glacier  on  horse- 
back, having  previously  been  brought  there  by 
teams  over  the  Automobile  Highway. 

In  strange  contrast  to  the  typical  western  style 
of  architecture,  noted  in  the  buildings  of  the 
small  village  of  Belton,  are  the  artistic  Swiss 
chalets  resting  on  the  mountain  slope  at  the 
western  border  line  of  Glacier  National  Park. 
The  lovely  terraced  gardens  and  walks  about  the 
Belton  chalets  give  one  a  last  taste  of  home,  for 
one  realises  that  here  at  the  gateway  to  Lake 
McDonald  one  enters  a  different  world. 

A  stagecoach  ride  over  a  macadam  road 
through  ancient  woods  of  cedar,  fir,  hemlock, 
and  pine  brought  us  to  blue  and  sparkling  Lake 
McDonald,  the  largest  lake  in  the  Park.  At  the 


46      GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

extreme  north  end  of  this  sheet  of  water  is  the 
"Lewis"  or  Glacier  Hotel,  the  starting-point  of 
various  trails  that  lead  from  the  south  and  west 
into  the  Park.  It  is  the  outpost  of  hard  and  fast 
conventionalities.  World  affairs  are  forgotten, 
and  interest  centres  at  once  in  camping  outfits, 
guides,  and  mountain  ponies.  At  this  busy  cen- 
tre everybody  seems  to  be  getting  together  the 
necessary  equipment  for  a  sight-seeing  expedi- 
tion into  the  interior.  One  may  well  recommend 
this  popular  Western  summer  resort  to  those  who 
seek  a  restful  and  quiet  holiday  on  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  lakes  of  the  world. 

Numerous  tiny  log  cottages  used  for  sleeping 
quarters  are  grouped  around  the  main  building 
and  dancing  pavilion  or  recreation  hall. 

In  the  heart  of  Glacier  Park  is  the  Many 
Glacier  Camp,  adjacent  to  the  Many  Glacier 
Hotel.  On  the  sloping  terrace  of  Altyn  Mt., 
overlooking  McDermott  Falls,  are  these  rustic 
lodges  picturesquely  disposed.  Directly  across 
Lake  McDermott,  on  the  east  shore  of  which 
the  "Many  Glacier'*  is  situated,  is  that  superb 
group  of  mighty  peaks — Gould,  Wilbur  and 
Grinnell  Mts.,  and  beyond,  the  Garden  Wall. 
Switzerland  can  boast  of  no  more  beautiful  scene 
than  the  fairy  spectacle  of  moonlight  on  Lake 


HOTELS  AND  CHALETS         47 

McDermott  and  the  glorious  panorama  of  sur- 
rounding peaks. 

Many  Glacier  Hotel  is  the  last  word  in  moun- 
tain hostelry,  and,  like  the  "Glacier  Park,"  every- 
thing about  it  gives  one  a  feeling  of  space  and 
freedom.  Above  a  basement  of  native  stone  the 
building  is  constructed  entirely  of  timber,  cut  and 
sawed  from  the  forests  of  Glacier  National  Park. 
The  exterior  is  beautifully  stained  in  mellow  red 
and  green  hues  to  conform  with  the  lovely  colours 
found  in  the  sandstone  and  red  and  green  argil- 
lite  in  the  bare  rock  walls  of  the  great  peaks 
across  the  lake.  Most  successfully  has  the 
"Alpine"  idea  in  the  architecture  been  carried 
out  by  the  elaborate  yet  quaint  carvings  noted 
in  the  window  and  door  frames  and  cornices. 
Very  picturesque  features  of  the  structure  are 
the  many  observation  galleries  and  "lookout" 
balconies. 

The  building  cannot  be  said  to  face  in  any 
certain  direction,  since  the  ground  plan  con- 
sists of  several  sections  or  units  which  together 
conform  to  the  irregular  shore  line  of  Lake  Mc- 
Dermott. The  several  units  comprising  the 
"Many  Glacier"  are,  namely,  the  Lobby  unit, 
the  Dormitory  unit,  the  Bridge  unit,  the  Dining 


48      GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

Hall  unit,  and  the  Kitchen  unit,  giving  in  all 
a  total  length  of  six  hundred  feet. 

As  satisfying  to  the  eye  as  is  the  exterior  of 
this  building,  the  interior  is  even  more  interest- 
ing than  that  of  the  "Glacier  Park."  Here  also 
we  enter  a  wonderful  high  Forest  Lobby,  du- 
plicating many  decorations  and  fittings  of  the 
former  hotel,  but  in  addition  there  are  many  new 
and  noteworthy  features.  At  one  end  is  a  cone- 
shaped  stone  fountain  which  rises  through  the 
floor  from  the  grill  below.  Native  ferns  and 
water  plants  grow  in  niches.  A  jet  of  milky 
water  from  a  nearby  glacier  sprays  over  from 
the  apex.  By  night  the  water  of  this  fountain 
is  electrically  coloured,  which,  in  addition  to  the 
Japanese  lighting  of  the  room,  gives  a  most  beau- 
tiful effect. 

The  Blackfeet  frieze,  a  mural  canvas  one  hun- 
dred feet  long,  extends  around  the  walls  of  the 
lobby.  This  remarkable  decoration,  which  is 
worth  while  to  cross  the  Continent  to  see,  is  the 
work  of  Chief  Medicine  Owl  and  eleven  other 
Blackfeet  chiefs.  It  depicts  the  history  of  the 
Blackfeet  nation  in  its  most  palmy  days.  This 
canvas  was  painted  expressly  for  the  hotel  and 
is  unique  among  wall  decorations.  Besides  the 
great  hooded  camp  fire  built  of  stone  on  the  lobby 


MANY    GLACIER    HOTEL    OX    LAKE    MCDERMOI 


LAKE    MCDERMOTT   AND   GRIXXELL    MOTXTAIN 


HOTELS  AND  CHALETS         49 

floor  similar  to  the  one  at  Glacier  Park,  is  a 
massive  stone  fireplace  built  into  one  of  the  walls, 
and  capable  of  feeding  on  immense  forest  logs. 

Below  the  lobby  is  the  grill  and  above  are 
three  tiers  of  guest  rooms  opening  on  the  gal- 
leries overlooking  the  lobby. 

The  dormitory  unit  which  adjoins  the  lobby 
section  consists  entirely  of  guest  rooms  in  five 
tiers. 

Between  the  dining  hall  and  the  dormitory 
is  what  is  called  "The  Bridge"  which  carries  the 
tea  room  and  sun  parlour  on  its  main  floor  and 
tiers  of  guest  rooms  above. 

The  beautiful  dining  hall  decoration  is  in  a 
pale  green  colour  scheme.  This  spacious  ban- 
quet hall,  which  has  a  massive  fireplace  at  one 
end,  and  a  lovely  pergola  along  the  McDermott 
Lake  side  of  the  room  where  broad  and  high 
windows  command  the  terrace  and  an  un- 
obstructed view  across  the  water,  features  great 
arches  and  a  beamed  ceiling  of  native  woods. 
Above  the  high  wainscoting  extends  another 
frieze  of  Indian  pictures  similar  to  that  placed  in 
the  lobby.  This,  too,  was  painted  by  present- 
day  Indian  chiefs. 

Finally,  the  kitchen  unit,  which  leads  from  the 
dining  hall,  is  one  of  the  most  complete  de- 


50      GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

partments  of  the  "Many  Glacier."  It  is  an  un- 
usually large  room  with  a  very  high  ceiling,  sky 
lighted,  and  abundantly  ventilated.  Most  of  the 
equipment  is  electric. 

Romantic  and  impressive  as  is  the  setting  of 
"Many  Glacier"  it  is  equally  admirable  as  a  point 
from  which  to  make  excursions  or  side-trips  into 
the  McDermott  country.  Each  day  that  one 
spends  at  this  hotel  or  camp  one  may  set  out,  by 
saddle  horse  or  afoot,  to  some  of  the  finest  of 
the  Park's  "beauty  spots"  and  return  to  the  hotel 
before  night. 

One  may  ascend  the  Swift  Current  Trail  to 
Swift  Current  Pass,  or  go  to  Iceberg  Lake, 
Ptarmigan  Lake,  Canyon  Creek,  Cracker  Lake, 
and  Grinnell  Lake.  Southward  one  may  go  to 
Piegan  Pass  past  Morning  Eagle  Falls. 

There  are  three  Tepee  Camps  located  in  con- 
venient stopping  places  in  the  Park,  namely,  at 
St.  Mary's,  Going-to-the-Sun,  and  Many  Gla- 
cier. Each  Tepee  Camp  has  a  central  tent  which 
is  used  as  a  dining-room  and  kitchen  equipped 
with  the  proper  facilities  for  cooking.  Around 
this  central  tent  are  grouped  a  number  of  Indian 
tepees  provided  with  wooden  floors,  cot  beds  and 
bedding.  Many  tourists  "over  trails  afoot"  find 
these  accommodations  especially  satisfactory. 


CHAPTER  III 


ON   THE   MOUNT    HENRY   TRAIL 


picturesque  group  of  peaks,  Mount 
A  Henry,  Red  Crow,  Bear  Head,  and  Squaw 
Mountains,  which  rise  directly  from  the  green 
foothills  surrounding  Glacier  Park  Hotel,  does 
not  permit  one  to  remain  simply  in  admiration 
at  their  base.  The  spell  of  the  land  of  the  shin- 
ing mountains  was  already  on  us  when  in  the 
long  still  twilight  of  a  June  night  we  looked  upon 
the  striking  outlines  of  these  lofty  heights  for 
the  first  time.  We  rejoiced  that  we  should  soon 
know  them  in  closer,  deeper  intimacy. 

Through  long  months  of  winter  our  thoughts 
had  often  "winged  their  flight"  to  this  wondrous 
land  of  mountain  peaks  that  teem  with  legends ; 
this  land  of  glaciers,  vast  forest,  deep  canyons, 
and  lovely  valleys  jewelled  with  silver  waterfalls 
and  azure  lakes ;  this  land  where  Nature  so  wild, 
beautiful,  and  rugged,  holds  her  sway. 

We  were  eager  for  the  morning  when  we  would 
arrange  for  our  itinerary  of  a  circuit  horseback 

51 


52      GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

tour  through  the  Park.  We  hoped  to  see  all  the 
principal  features  of  this  great  play-ground  and 
travel  when  and  where  we  pleased.  Our  first 
objective  point  was  the  beautiful  Two  Medicine 
Camp,  situated  on  the  shores  of  Upper  Two 
Medicine  Lake,  twelve  miles  from  the  hotel.  The 
new  trail  over  Mt.  Henry  which  would  afford 
us  one  of  the  finest  views  in  the  Park,  even  with 
its  attendant  hazard,  appealed  to  us,  rather  than 
the  familiar,  pretty,  forest  road  that  skirts  the 
ridges  above  Lower  Two  Medicine  Lake. 

The  cool  evening  gave  promise  of  a  pleasant 
hour  in  the  luxuriant  "forest"  lobby  of  the  hotel, 
where  around  the  great  open  fireplace  the  novice, 
the  transcontinental  tourist,  the  fisherman,  the 
artist,  the  scientist,  the  explorer,  mingle  in  free 
and  easy  association  with  the  bronzed  and  hardy 
mountaineer,  the  booted  and  khaki-dressed  park 
ranger,  and  guides  with  clanking  spurs.  All 
too  soon  bed-time  came  while  we  were  still  listen- 
ing to  stories  that  breathed  the  true  spirit  of  these 
great  mountain  peaks. 

Mountains,  it  is  said,  have  a  way  of  warning 
off  strangers  or  greeting  friends.  This  we  real- 
ised when  the  next  day  broke  with  one  of  those 
doubtful  mornings  which  might  end  in  a  grey 
veil  of  rain,  shutting  out  the  world  of  peaks  for 


OX  MOUNT  HENRY  TRAIL       53 

many  days,  or  be  a  harbinger  of  weeks  of  glorious 
weather. 

Shortly  the  Squaw  drew  on  her  cap  of  clouds ; 
the  patches  of  blue  sky  became  overcast,  and 
presently  a  thunderstorm  with  blue-black  clouds 
and  endless  reverberations  from  peak  to  peak 
ended  in  a  wild  dismal  tempest  of  pouring  rain 
and  wind-beaten  sleet.  All  that  day  the  clouds 
hung  thick  over  the  mountain-tops,  and  when 
they  lifted  for  a  brief  period  only  to  swing  low 
again,  there  was  the  glimmer  of  fresh  snow.  The 
gathering  gloom  of  the  afternoon  turned  to  the 
darkness  of  a  rainy  night. 

Climbing,  riding  the  trails,  or  any  other  fea- 
ture of  a  mountain  trip  was  out  of  the  question 
for  that  day  at  least. 

The  great  open  fireplace  of  the  big  hotel  with 
its  huge  crackling  logs  and  cheerful  blaze  became 
the  rendezvous  of  all  the  guests.  Here  the  great- 
est sociability  prevailed.  What  mattered  it  that 
the  wind  roared,  or  the  trees  swayed  and  moaned, 
or  the  skies  wept!  The  logs  were  piled  high 
and  the  cheerful  influence  of  the  roaring  fire  made 
conversation  easy.  Each  found  his  favourite 
nook  and  made  plans  and  preparations  for  suc- 
ceeding days,  or  narrated  his  experiences  of  a  yes- 
terday. Wonderful  tales  that  frequently  lacked 


54      GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

historical  accuracy  but  excelled  in  variety  and 
interest  contributed  to  the  entertainment,  and 
wiled  away  the  hours ;  tales  of  Glacier  Park  and 
of  other  lands;  cowboy  yarns  and  hunting  epi- 
sodes. Blackfeet  Indians  mingled  with  the  guests 
and  sang  or  repeated  the  legends  of  their  tribe. 

Women  have  ventured  far  into  the  great 
mountains  without  a  guide.  My  friend  and  I 
did  not  care  for  the  vexations  and  necessary  dis- 
comforts of  such  experiences.  We  had  come  for 
a  carefree  vacation.  The  pleasures  which  we  an- 
ticipated did  not  preclude  a  guide.  Donald  had 
been  recommended  to  us,  and  months  before  our 
arrival  we  had  engaged  him  to  conduct  us 
through  the  Park.  We  were  eager  to  meet  him 
in  order  to  talk  over  the  minor  details  of  our 
trip,  and  especially  to  decide  on  our  mounts. 

The  evening  before  we  thought  we  had  a 
glimpse  of  Donald,  as  a  group  of  guides  swung 
across  the  lobby  on  their  way  to  the  plunge  when 
a  game  of  water  polo  was  on  the  programme. 
We  knew  him  because  he  was  the  Indian. 

The  guides  of  these  western  mountains  differ 
greatly  from  the  well-known  Alpine  guides.  In 
general  characteristics  they  approach  the  cow- 
boy class — grave  on  the  surface,  reserved,  kind, 
full  of  courage,  lawless,  keenly  sensitive  to  the 


ON  MOUNT  HENRY  TRAIL       55 

sense  of  humour,  skilful  in  handling  horses,  and, 
last  but  not  least,  "inimitable  in  the  use  of  the 
English  language."  But  more  directly  can  the 
comparison  be  drawn  in  details  of  dress — the 
Stetson  or  broad  brimmed  felt  hat,  the  bandana 
or  silk  handkerchief  around  the  neck;  the  doe- 
skin shirt  and  fringed  gauntlet;  the  "chaps"  of 
leather  or  angora  hair,  the  high  heeled  boots  and 
clanking  spurs. 

So,  too,  Donald,  though  he  was  typical,  was 
different.  Born  on  the  Blackfeet  Indian  Reser- 
vation, a  half-breed  of  that  proud  tribe,  he  had 
lived  his  twenty  young  years  among  these  moun- 
tains. He  had  hunted  and  tramped  over  all  the 
old  trails  from  earliest  childhood.  He  was  at 
home  in  the  great  wilderness,  and  familiar  with 
every  feature  of  the  Park.  It  would  be  difficult 
to  find  a  more  typical  and  efficient  Indian.  His 
erect  and  slender,  yet  striking  figure;  his  power- 
ful physique;  his  fine,  massive  head;  his  long, 
straight,  black  hair;  his  perfect  Indian  profile 
and  colouring;  his  graceful  yet  hawk-like  move- 
ments; his  watchful  but  not  suspicious  attitude; 
his  terseness  of  speech;  his  self-poise,  all  pro- 
claimed him  an  Indian  thoroughbred. 

Our  interview  closed  with  Donald's  assurance 
that,  the  weather  permitting,  our  horses  would  be 


56      GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

ready  for  us  at  nine  o'clock  the  next  morning, 
for  the  ascent  of  Mt.  Henry.  But  Providence 
was  unkind;  the  weather  did  not  permit.  The 
storm  continued  as  a  gale  all  night  and  the  next 
morning  we  woke  to  another  cloudy  day  with 
a  damp  and  cheerless  atmosphere.  A  frigid  air 
swept  down  from  the  mountains  that  were  en- 
veloped in  their  mantles  of  mist.  The  wind  blew 
spitefully  across  the  open  foot-hills.  The  rain 
fell  intermittently.  The  day  afforded  us  an  op- 
portunity for  writing  letters,  consulting  and 
studying  government  maps  and  geological  sur- 
veys, and  questioning  Donald  on  matters  of 
equipment. 

A  third  day  dawned  with  shrouded  skies,  but 
the  rain  had  ceased  and  there  was  every  pros- 
pect of  our  starting  off  that  morning.  At  first 
a  heavy  mist  clung  to  the  mountain  peaks.  The 
vegetation  dripped  with  moisture.  Mt.  Henry 
remained  hidden,  giving  the  suspicion  that  snow 
was  falling  at  the  top. 

Our  trunks  had  been  repacked  and  stored  the 
evening  before,  and  our  dunnage  bags  for  the 
trip  were  limited  to  a  few  extra  clothes,  under- 
wear, and  toilet  articles.  We  were  dressed  for 
the  trip  in  our  riding  clothes  of  scarlet  coats,  dark 
knickerbockers,  riding  boots,  Stetson  hats  and 


ON  MOUNT  HENRY  TRAIL       57 

leather  gauntlets.  It  is  true  that  a  few  trans- 
continental tourists  in  city  togs  looked  a  bit 
askance  at  us,  but  there  were  others  as  properly 
dressed  as  we  for  a  tour  through  the  Park,  so  we 
did  not  in  the  least  feel  conspicuous,  much  less 
bizarre. 

At  ten  o'clock  a  sudden  change  took  place  in 
the  weather.  The  wind  came  from  another  di- 
rection, the  grey  clouds  streamed  away  and  scat- 
tered like  tattered  garments,  then  rolled  them- 
selves upward  in  sun-lighted  vapour,  higher  and 
higher,  and  melted  in  the  clear  heavens.  Mt. 
Henry  was  clearly  silhouetted  against  the  blue 
sky. 

Directly  after  lunch  we  were  off.  Donald 
looked  the  ideal  centaur  as  he  rode  his  own  Blue 
Boy,  a  beautiful  high-spirited  animal,  of  which 
he  was  thorough  master.  For  us  he  had  selected 
each  the  ideal  mountain  horse  of  medium  size, 
graceful,  strongly  but  not  clumsily  built,  sure- 
footed beyond  question,  gentle,  intelligent  and 
marvellous  in  powers  of  endurance.  Our  pack 
horse  was  a  small  black  and  white  pony  of  the 
Pinto  type. 

We  were  gay  and  our  spirits  were  high  as 
we  rode  along,  first  for  a  short  distance  on  the 
Automobile  Road  that  starts  from  the  hotel,  and 


58      GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

then  on  the  narrow  wagon  trail  which  winds  on 
through  the  foot-hills.  This  in  turn  gave  way 
to  the  foot  trail  which  leads  up  to  the  summit 
of  Mt.  Henry. 

Without  perceptible  change  the  hills  became 
more  impressive,  but  the  pines  which  covered 
them  shut  out  the  views.  We  were  conscious  of 
an  ascent,  although  the  trail  was  never  steep. 
Not  until  we  had  ridden  an  hour  or  more  did 
we  realise  how  high  we  had  come.  Then  Donald 
called  to  us  to  turn  and  look  back.  We  had  sur- 
mounted one  of  the  highest  foot-hills,  the  summit 
of  which  gave  the  appearance  of  a  park-like  land- 
scape— wide  and  open. 

The  view,  if  not  superb,  was  truly  beautiful. 
For  many  miles  around  we  could  see  the  lower 
distant  ridges  and  hills  covered  with  tapering 
grey  cedars  mingled  with  dark  green  spruces; 
deep  sloping  ravines,  watered  hollows,  and  far 
away  to  the  east  the  great  stretches  of  the  Black- 
feet  Indian  Reservation.  Already  the  wide 
world  seemed  open  to  us.  We  felt  like  taking 
long,  deep  breaths. 

The  forest  closed  upon  our  trail  again.  Grad- 
ually the  timber  became  thinner  and  stunted,  and 
when  we  emerged  entirely  we  were  well  up  on 
the  side  of  Mt.  Henry.  Suddenly  drops  of 


,1. 


ON  MOUNT  HENRY  TRAIL       59 

rain  began  to  fall  and  looking  up  we  saw  a 
troubled  sky  which  plainly  indicated  more  than 
a  passing  shower.  We  stopped  to  put  on  our 
"slickers."  Soon  came  the  easy  rain  which 
quickly  swelled  to  a  downpour,  and,  as  we  gained 
a  higher  altitude,  this  turned  to  snow. 

Immediately  a  thick  veil  of  mist  was  drawn 
before  our  eyes,  shutting  out  the  world.  We 
were  above  the  clouds.  A  hush  fell  over  earth 
and  sky.  Every  sound  seemed  muffled.  There 
was  no  wind.  The  soft,  feathery,  lovely  flakes 
fell  quietly  to  earth.  Soon  they  grew  in  size 
and  number  until  it  seemed  we  were  in  a  tent 
of  snow.  We  could  barely  see  Donald  who  was 
about  a  hundred  feet  ahead  of  us.  The  flakes 
were  wet  and  woolly  masses  that  settled  on  our 
"slickers"  like  a  thick  wrinkled  fabric.  We  were 
wrapped  in  white  obscurity. 

After  the  storm  was  fairly  on  the  wind  awoke 
and  the  flakes  began  a  merry  dance.  By  the 
time  we  had  crossed  the  shoulder  of  the  moun- 
tain we  were  headed  against  a  gale.  To  be  sure 
it  was  exhilarating  in  the  extreme,  yet  we  were 
not  exactly  at  our  ease.  Ours  was  the  first  at- 
tempt to  cross  on  the  Mt.  Henry  Trail  since 
the  official  opening  of  the  1916  season  in  the 
Park.  In  many  places  the  snows  of  the  last 


60      GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

winter  filled  the  trail.  Watchful  movements 
were  necessary. 

The  trail  to  the  canyon  bed,  after  it  swings 
across  the  peak,  pitches  in  switch-back  fashion 
to  the  timber  line.  The  grade  is  steep  and  skirts 
in  some  places  precipices  which  fall  sheer  for  a 
thousand  feet  and  more.  Under  the  most  per- 
fect conditions  it  is  not  pleasant  to  know  that 
your  horse  always  walks  on  the  extreme  edge; 
so  to-day,  with  the  loose  fluffy  covering,  ankle- 
deep  on  the  loose  stones,  it  was  far  from  com- 
fortable to  notice  how  at  every  step  the  horse's 
outer  hind  foot  slipped  off  the  edge.  The  only 
way  to  keep  one's  peace  of  mind  was  to  sit  steady 
and  give  the  horse  his  head. 

Just  as  we  were  turning  at  an  abrupt  angle, 
I  noticed  Donald's  peculiar  attitude  in  the  sad- 
dle. He  was  standing  in  his  stirrups,  it  seemed, 
and  leaning  far  over  his  horse's  head.  I  heard 
him  shout  for  us  to  halt.  A  huge  snow-drift, 
ten  feet  deep,  reminder  of  last  season's  snow,  lay 
across  the  trail.  An  investigation  proved  the 
impossibility  of  attempting  to  take  our  horses 
across.  We,  too,  now  dismounted  and  wheeling 
the  animals  on  the  narrow  ridge,  retraced  our 
course  to  the  shoulder  of  the  peak.  Here  we 
rode  across  in  a  blinding  storm,  following  no 


ON  MOUNT  HENRY  TRAIL       61 

trail  other  than  along  which  Donald's  instinct 
guided  him.  We  were  trying  to  reach  the  trail 
on  the  farther  side  of  the  drift.  Moments  seemed 
hours.  We  were  utterly  at  the  mercy  of  Don- 
ald's knowledge  of  the  mountain.  His  lead  took 
us  to  a  rather  higher  point  of  the  peak,  from 
which  he  pointed  down  a  fearful  slope  to  the 
trail  below. 

To  reach  it  we  had  to  dismount;  for  here  on 
the  sharp  point  our  horses  began  to  slip  and 
slide  because  of  the  loose  shale  rock,  and  small 
boulders  hidden  by  the  recent  treacherous  cover- 
ing of  snow.  Leaving  our  mounts  at  this  point, 
Donald  helped  us  down  several  hundred  feet  be- 
side the  trail,  where  we  waited  for  him  to  bring 
the  horses  down. 

I  frankly  confess  that  by  this  time  my  high 
spirits  and  courage  for  a  brief  period  left  me. 
Like  "Babes  in  the  Woods,"  we  sat  on  a  huge 
boulder,  all  alone,  with  the  snow  pelting  down 
upon  us  and  threatening  soon  to  cover  us  com- 
pletely. Donald  had  disappeared;  a  white  cur- 
tain had  closed  behind  him.  Disquieting  thoughts 
filled  our  minds.  We  were  full  of  intense  nerv- 
ous strain  and  deeply  absorbed  in  the  precise 
present. 

Perhaps  a  quarter  of  an  hour  passed.     Some 


62      GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

loose  rock  rolled  to  our  feet  and,  as  we  turned, 
we  saw  Donald  far  above  us  on  a  steep  slope 
of  shale  which  seemed  quite  ready  to  slide  in  an 
avalanche  of  loose  rock  over  the  edge  of  the  cliff 
below  us.  He  was  leading  Blue  Boy  and  the 
others  were  following.  We  held  our  breath  as 
we  watched  them  coming  down.  It  was  fright- 
ful to  see  them  try  to  keep  their  feet.  With 
every  step  the  loose  shale  and  rock  came  rat- 
tling down  the  slope  near  us.  At  especially  bad 
places  we  could  see  how  Donald  held  them,  but 
over  and  over  again  it  seemed  a  miracle  that 
they  did  not  slip  and  fall.  Luck  certainly  counted 
largely  here. 

The  ascent  of  Mt.  Henry  on  a  fine  day  will 
always  richly  repay  one  for  the  views  because 
of  the  admirable  position  of  the  mountain.  Fate 
had  not  granted  us  the  lovely  panorama  which 
may  be  seen  from  this  peak.  Except  when  the 
strong  wind  opened  rents  now  and  then  in  the 
heavy  cloud  which  enveloped  us,  we  saw  noth- 
ing but  weird  glimpses  of  peaks,  chasms,  and 
rock  walls.  Once  as  we  looked  beyond  the  preci- 
pice for  a  moment,  we  caught  a  glimmer  of  the 
blue  waters  of  Upper  Two  Medicine  Lake  far 
down  below  us. 

No  sooner  had  we  descended  a  few  hundred 


ON  MOUNT  HENRY  TRAIL       63 

feet  than  the  snowfall  ceased  and  we  came  out 
of  the  mists.  Every  bush  and  tree  reeked  with 
moisture.  The  steep  and  narrow  trail  was  wet 
and  treacherous  with  weathered  rock,  slippery 
and  soft  by  turns.  Since  no  report  of  the  rang- 
ers had  yet  been  sent  in,  as  to  the  condition  of 
the  trail,  and  to  assure  us  perfect  safety  in  the 
descent,  Donald  walked  beside  his  horse  leading 
and  testing  the  ground.  My  friend,  too,  made 
most  of  the  descent  afoot,  because  after  we 
rounded  the  shoulder  of  the  mountain  and  caught 
sight  of  the  thread-like  trail  ahead,  winding  along 
the  edge  of  the  precipice,  her  horse,  contrary  to 
her  efforts  to  force  his  head  toward  the  moun- 
tain, persisted  in  creeping  along  the  very  outer 
edge  of  the  dizzy  brink  and,  so  far  as  she  could 
judge,  kept  looking  over  into  the  abyss  with  what 
she  thought  an  evil  eye.  The  poor  beast,  in  his 
efforts  to  turn  his  face  from  the  blinding  snow 
was  obliged  to  do  this,  but  she  misjudged  the 
animal  and  thought  from  the  suspicious  wiggle 
of  his  ears  and  the  constant  switching  of  his  tail 
that  he  was  pondering  refuge  from  the  storm 
by  preparing  for  a  headlong  plunge  into  the 
shadowy  depths  below.  Not  caring  to  accom- 
pany him  into  this  region,  and  being  unfamiliar 
with  horse  nature,  she  gently  slid  from  the  saddle 


64      GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

and  walked  between  her  mount  and  the  solid  old 
mountain.  Nor  could  she  be  induced  to  burden 
him  again  with  her  weight  until  we  had  descended 
far  into  the  valley,  and  were  on  comparatively 
level  ground  almost  at  the  camp. 

I  remained  in  the  saddle  during  the  entire 
descent.  The  saddle  is  a  vantage  ground  from 
which  to  see  clearly  many  things  that  would 
otherwise  remain  unnoticed.  Slowly  but  suc- 
cessfully we  zigzagged  long  rock  slides,  stretches 
of  water,  and  slippery  stones.  Looking  down 
over  the  trail  which  pitched  at  times  very  un- 
pleasantly, it  was  impossible  to  realise  how  far  be- 
low us  lay  the  floor  of  the  canyon.  Rivers,  brooks 
and  waterfalls  appeared  like  silver  threads. 
Meadows,  pine  slopes,  and  upper  timber  melted 
away  in  tints  and  shades  of  colour. 

We  descended  through  all  the  successive  zones 
of  Alpine  landscape,  from  the  lofty  mountain 
top  covered  with  snow  down  to  the  deep  valley 
that  was  carpeted  with  flowery  meadows.  We 
met  with  all  the  seasons  and  every  variety  of 
vegetation  as  we  descended.  Winter  was  far  up 
on  the  steep  slopes  of  bare  rock  and  shale  where 
grew  only  lichens,  Alpine  flowers,  and  the  gnome- 
trees  called  "Jack"  pine.  Autumn  reigned  in 
the  region  of  wild  ravines  and  green  uplands, 


ON  MOUNT  HENRY  TRAIL       65 

gorgeous  in  wild  profusion  of  pink  and  white 
heather,  wild  and  wayward  harebells,  starry  as- 
ters, blue-eyed  veronicas,  red  paint-brush  and 
yellow  mountain  bell,  seen  through  aisles  of 
stunted  trees — tapering  cedars,  -and  spruces 
bearded  with  grey  moss.  Lastly  our  descent  lay 
through  a  thick  undergrowth  and  fragrant  forest 
of  pine  and  balsam.  Our  horses'  feet  sank 
noiselessly  in  the  soft,  springy  turf.  Here  spring 
vied  with  summer  in  the  rich  carpet  of  lovely 
blossoms  spread  out  around  us. 

In  the  deepening  shadows  of  the  late  afternoon 
we  reached  Two  Medicine  Camp,  just  as  the 
sunset  hues  were  fading  from  the  sky.  We  had, 
at  last,  come  through  a  short  stretch  of  heavy 
timber  when  suddenly  the  beautiful  camp  site 
opened  before  us. 

In  the  foreground  nestled  the  charming  rus- 
tic chalets  on  the  edge  of  a  forest  growth  along 
the  shores  of  the  lovely  lake  whose  clear,  cool, 
blue  waves  roll  right  under  the  flank  of  the  tim- 
bered slope  of  Rising  Wolf,  one  of  the  highest 
peaks  of  the  Park.  All  around  were  Alpine 
slopes,  fine  precipices,  bare  rock  walls  and 
wooded  promontories,  forming  an  admirable 
frame  for  the  sharp  rock  peak  of  Mt.  Rockwell 
at  the  head  of  the  lake. 


66      GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

Wet  as  we  were,  and  chilled  by  exposure  and 
the  necessary  slowness  of  our  progress,  we 
stopped  and  enjoyed  for  some  time  this  charm- 
ing scene.  The  gentle  dusk  was  stealing  down 
from  cliff  to  cliff  and  already  the  pale  stars  were 
putting  out  the  day. 

Before  the  great  open  fire  place  of  a  cosy,  well- 
supplied,  and  comfortable  one-room  chalet,  we 
dried  our  saturated  garments  and  enjoyed  our 
hot  tea  and  biscuits.  Later  as  we  sat  in  the  red 
glow  of  the  blazing  logs  we  quite  forgot  the 
fatigues  and  difficulties  of  the  day.  We  felt  soul- 
satisfied  for  having  seen  some  of  the  rugged 
grandeur  of  Nature's  great  outdoors.  That 
night  we  fell  asleep  with  the  call  of  the  Trail 
ringing  in  our  ears. 


CHAPTER  IV 

TRAILS  AND   ROADS 

THE  approach  into  the  heart  of  this  great 
play-ground  has  been  made  easy  by  its 
splendid  roads  and  trails.  These  thread  the  Park 
in  various  directions  from  central  points  and  are 
the  requisites  for  its  development  as  a  recrea- 
tion ground.  The  scenic  beauties  are  there  but 
must  be  made  accessible.  It  is  hoped  that  Con- 
gress will  be  generous  each  year  in  its  appro- 
priation for  Glacier  National  Park,  which, 
though  one  of  the  youngest  of  our  national  play- 
grounds, is  destined  to  become  the  most  popular. 
The  trails  and  roads  are  built  and  under  control 
of  the  Department  of  the  Interior. 

One  of  the  main  travel  routes  is  the  Automo- 
bile Highway,  which  has  its  beginning  at  Glacier 
Park  Hotel  and  terminates  at  Many  Glacier 
Hotel  fifty-five  miles  distant  in  a  region  sur- 
rounded by  stately  mountains,  these  lifting  their 
heads  far  into  the  drifting  clouds  or  into  the 
depths  of  a  silent  sky. 

67 


68      GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

This  is  a  specially  constructed  gravel  road  for 
auto  and  stage  traffic  built  to  open  the  St.  Mary 
and  Many  Glacier  regions.  The  Great  North- 
ern Railway  Company  built  the  first  twenty-five 
miles  and  the  government  the  remainder. 

Portions  of  the  road  follow  the  old  Travois 
Indian  trail,  which  fact,  when  known,  adds  in- 
terest to  the  route. 

As  this  road  can  be  enjoyed  best  only  by  auto- 
mobile, and  as  we  had  already  worked  our  way 
over  the  trails  by  saddle  horse  into  the  Many 
Glacier  Country,  we  wanted  to  go  over  this  road 
for  new  impressions  and  also  as  a  relaxation  from 
several  days'  strenuous  riding.  Accordingly,  we 
engaged  seats  in  one  of  the  large  twelve-passen- 
ger auto  stages.  We  had  left  a  call  for  half-past 
six,  so  when  the  ringing  of  our  telephone  awak- 
ened us  from  happy  dreams,  we  eagerly  re- 
sponded to  its  alarming  persistency  and  pro- 
ceeded to  make  ourselves  ready. 

That  the  morning  was  bright  and  beautiful 
was  evident  from  the  sunshine  streaming  through 
the  windows  from  which  a  glance  showed  the 
shining  whiteness  of  the  mountain  heads.  At 
half -past  eight  a  toot  of  the  horn  in  front  of  the 
hotel  announced  that  all  was  ready  for  the  start, 
and  with  others  just  as  eager  we  made  ourselves 


TRAILS  AND  ROADS  69 

comfortable  in  the  commodious  car  and  away 
we  went. 

No  one  thought  of  being  afraid  as  the  big  ma- 
chine whirled  along  the  highway,  for  each  kept 
wondering  what  new  feature  each  curve  of  the 
road  would  reveal.  A  constantly  changing  pano- 
rama appeared,  beautiful  and  inspiring — moun- 
tains, some  dark  browed,  others  snow-capped; 
limpid  lakes  sparkling  in  the  sunlight;  rivers 
like  flowing  streams  of  quick-silver;  dark  forests 
of  pine  emitting  a  delicious  woodsy  fragrance; 
and  again  and  again  meadows  of  various  col- 
oured flowers  nodding  their  heads  in  greeting 
as  we  passed  by. 

From  the  hotel  we  made  northward  across  the 
high  plains  of  the  Blackfeet  Reservation,  for  this 
portion  of  the  road  lies  outside  the  park  bound- 
ary. Crossing  Two  Medicine  River  two  miles 
out,  we  skirted  the  picturesque  region  bearing 
the  same  name,  looking  on  the  distant  peaks  of 
Squaw  Mountain,  Mt.  Henry  with  our  memories 
of  the  snow  storm  fresh  in  mind,  and  Bison 
Mountain. 

The  view  grew  upon  us  as  we  continued 
along  the  rim  of  the  Cut  Bank  region,  glimpsing 
Spot  Mountain,  Basin  Mountain,  White  Calf 


f 
70      GLACIER  -NATIONAL  PARK 

Mountain,  and  Divide  Mountain,  having  bridged 
Cut  Bank  River  opposite  Basin  Mountain. 

Rounding  Divide  Mountain  in  a  series  of  ex- 
citing curves  in  which  the  road  seemed  constantly 
to  end  abruptly,  little  Divide  Creek  was  crossed 
and  we  entered  Glacier  Park.  For  several  miles 
we  rode  through  a  beautifully  wooded  region, 
refreshing  and  restful,  at  the  foot  of  St.  Mary's 
Lake,  and  with  a  sharp  descent  reached  the  camp 
on  the  shores  of  this  wonderful  lake.  Here  some 
of  the  passengers  wished  to  remain,  and  others 
were  given  an  opportunity  to  stretch  their  limbs 
while  the  gasoline  wagon  was  given  a  fresh  sup- 
ply of  oil.  We  bought  some  cakes  of  chocolate 
and  after  copious  draughts  of  spring  water  were 
ready  to  continue  the  ride. 

From  St.  Mary's  chalets  the  roadway  passes 
through  the  old  town  of  St.  Mary,  and  again  en- 
ters the  reservation  following  northward  along 
the  east  shore  of  Lower  St.  Mary's  Lake  for  sev- 
eral miles,  at  the  foot  of  which  it  turns  westward 
and,  crossing  St.  Mary's  River,  enters  the  Swift 
Current  Valley,  renowned  for  its  beauty,  with 
Sherburne  and  Chief  Mountains  in  view.  Five 
miles  through  this  valley  brought  us  back  within 
the  borders  of  the  Park  and  from  thence  on 
the  road  winds  along  the  shore  of  the  charming 


TRAILS  AND  ROADS  71 

Sherburne  Lakes,  which  look  more  like  a  broad 
river  and  show  most  marvellous  reflections  of 
mountains  and  clouds. 

Strangely  silent  now  were  we  gazing  at  these 
snowy  and  glorious  Rockies,  with  Appekunny 
on  our  right  and  Altyn  at  the  left  while  ahead 
gradually  were  taking  shape  three  majestic 
mountains,  Mt.  Gould,  awe-inspiring  and  tower- 
ing 4,700  feet  above  Lake  McDermott ;  Grinnell 
Mountain,  imposing  in  its  quiet  dignity,  and  Mt. 
Wilbur,  looming  high  as  a  peak  and  standing 
quite  aloof  from  its  companions. 

So  rapt  in  admiration  and  contemplation 
were  we  that  it  was  only  with  the  knowledge  that 
the  car  was  no  longer  moving  and  that  voices 
were  bidding  us  welcome,  that  we  realised  that 
our  journey  over  the  Automobile  Highway  was 
ended  and  we  had  reached  Many  Glacier  Camp 
again. 

With  feelings  of  joy  we  sat  again  in  the  eve- 
ning on  the  balcony  of  our  chalet  and  saw  the 
sun  go  down  in  its  glory.  Great  fleecy  piles  of 
clouds  arranged  themselves  above  and  behind  the 
mountains.  Some  were  outlined  in  pure  gold; 
some  were  lighted  with  a  crimson  glow  cast  from 
the  dying  sun;  while  others  appeared  as  great 
billows  of  purple  mountains,  transplanted  in  the 


72      GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

heavens  and  floating  in  its  blue  depths.  Con- 
stantly changing  in  shape  and  colour  until  fad- 
ing to  a  dull  grey,  they  gradually  vanished,  lost 
in  the  gathering  twilight  which  calmly  stole  down 
upon  us.  Silently,  one  by  one,  the  stars  appeared 
in  the  celestial  sphere  and  the  moon  poured  down 
her  cold  silver  light  upon  a  scene  sublime  and 
inspirational  in  grandeur. 

Another  line  of  approach  into  the  Park  is 
from  the  western  entrance  at  Belton.  From  this 
little  hamlet  a  fine  three-mile  government  road 
leads  to  the  foot  of  lovely  Lake  McDonald. 
The  route  takes  one  across  Flathead  River,  tum- 
bling and  foaming  with  little  rapids,  winds  for 
a  short  distance  along  the  side  of  a  steep  hill 
where  the  road  is  so  narrow  that  one  intuitively 
watches  the  outer  edge,  then  leads  on  into  a  grand 
old  forest.  * 

Through  this  the  macadam  road  is  wide  and 
level  with  tall  bearded  pines  on  either  side  giv- 
ing out  most  exquisite  odours.  One  easily  imag- 
ines himself  in  the  forest  primeval,  lost  to  the 
outside  world.  Musing  on  the  tranquillity  of 
the  solitude  broken  only  by  the  sweet  singing  of 
birds,  we  were  wishing  the  ride  might  continue 
for  hours,  when  a  glimmer  of  blue  was  seen, 
which,  slowly  enlarging  to  view,  disclosed  the 


NEW    AUTOMOBILE    ROAD 
MANY    GLACIER    CAMP 


TRAILS  AND  ROADS  73 

placid  waters  of  the  far-famed  Lake  McDonald. 

These  two  roadways  give  one  only  a  tantalis- 
ing taste  of  the  splendours  to  be  seen.  If  the 
deeper  recesses  of  this  huge  play-ground  are  to 
be  penetrated,  it  is  only  by  the  trails.  These  may 
be  traversed  either  by  walking  or  by  horse- 
back. Arrangements  can  easily  be  made  whereby 
reliable  guides,  familiar  with  every  turn  in  the 
Park,  saddle-horses  as  comfortable  as  rocking- 
chairs,  and  pack  horses  may  be  obtained  to  suit 
the  taste  of  the  most  critical.  Thus,  true  lovers 
of  high  places  may  with  safety  scale  the  moun- 
tain fastnesses  and  revel  to  their  hearts'  content 
in  one  of  the  most  marvellous  mountain  regions 
in  the  world. 

But  how  were  these  trails  made?  In  various 
ways.  Doubtless  the  wild  animals  were  the  orig- 
inal trail-makers.  These  game  trails  lead  from 
valley  to  valley  across  the  mountains.  Pursuing 
the  game  came  the  Indians,  who  were  in  turn  fol- 
lowed by  trappers  and  hunters  searching  for  easy 
routes.  Later  appeared  the  government  en- 
gineers looking  over  the  ground  and  finally  cou- 
rageous tourists  and  lovers  of  nature.  According 
to  one  writer,  "The  deer  were  the  first;  then  the 
elk  followed  the  deer;  the  buffalo  followed  the 
elk;  the  Indian  followed  the  buffalo;  trappers 


74      GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

then;  then  army  officers  came  along  and  dis- 
covered a  pass." 

Now,  when  new  trails  are  made,  they  are  usu- 
ally first  surveyed  by  engineers  or  laid  out  by 
forest  rangers,  then  blazed  for  location  and  direc- 
tion. Men  follow,  cutting  the  trees,  after  which 
the  rock  is  dynamited  and  graded  by  a  crew  of 
workers. 

These  trails,  scaling  the  steep  sides  of  moun- 
tains, must  be  in  the  nature  of  "switch-backs," 
each  successive  level  taking  one  higher  and  higher 
until  dizzy  heights  are  reached  and  he  feels  that 
there  is  nothing  but  the  pure  air  between  him  and 
the  far-away  sky. 

Three  skyland  trails  enable  the  tourist  to  go 
onto  some  of  the  highest  mountains  in  the  Park. 
Of  these,  Gunsight  Trail,  extending  east  and 
west,  crosses  the  Continental  Divide  at  Gunsight 
Pass;  and  Swift  Current  Trail,  also  east  and 
west,  pierces  the  roof  of  the  continent  at  S  wift 
Current  Pass.  Piegan  Trail  follows  The  Divide 
at  Piegan  Pass  in  a  north  and  south  direction. 

The  very  name  of  Swift  Current  stimulates  in- 
terest, for  it  has  been  famous  in  the  history  of 
this  region  since  the  mining  days  when  over  a 
trail  built  by  prospectors  supplies  were  carried 


75 

through  the  valley  westward  into  the  mountains 
during  the  copper  excitement. 

From  no  other  point  in  the  Park  can  so  many 
interesting  side  trips  be  taken  as  from  Many 
Glacier  Camp  in  the  Swift  Current  Valley.  In 
this  region  Nature  has  grouped  together  with 
utter  abandon  a  most  magnificent  array  of  varied 
scenery,  comprising  mountains  in  bold  relief; 
jewelled  lakes  begirt  with  sombre  forests;  hun- 
dreds of  waterfalls  escaping  from  glacial  fields 
high  on  the  mountains  and  plunging  down  their 
dark  sides;  gaping  canyons  with  their  misty 
depths;  beautiful  amphitheatres,  bearing  evi- 
dence of  the  mighty  carving  of  glaciers  ages  ago, 
some  of  which  still  hold  remnants  of  these  ice- 
monsters  slowly  eating  their  way  into  the  moun- 
tains, while  others  remain  as  great  bowls  filled 
with  glacial  water ;  rivers  and  creeks  rushing  over 
beds  of  boulders ;  and  great  gardens  of  wild  flow- 
ers exhaling  fragrance  and  cheer  to  the  tourist. 

Keenly  disappointed  is  the  tourist  who  reaches 
Many  Glacier  and  finds  himself  unable  to  go  over 
Swift  Current  Pass.  By  many  this  pass  is  con- 
sidered the  finest  in  the  Park.  We  had  thought 
nothing  could  excel  Piegan  Pass,  so  were  on 
the  qui  vive  when  Donald  told  us  that  the  ranger 
had  reported  the  pass  open.  We  should  now 


76      GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

have  the  opportunity  to  judge  for  ourselves  of 
the  superiority  in  picturesqueness  of  the  one  over 
the  other. 

Early  morning  found  us  astir  in  eager  antici- 
pation of  the  day's  programme.  In  due  time  our 
faithful  greys  were  saddled  and  stood  patient 
with  blinking  eyes  while  we  mounted.  Donald, 
on  Blue  Boy,  with  the  ever-present  coil  of  rope 
over  the  horn  of  his  saddle,  led  off  at  a  brisk 
trot  and  we  followed  closely.  Asking  our  Black- 
feet  aristocrat  one  day  why  he  always  carried 
the  rope-coil,  he  answered  laconically,  "It  looks 
rather  stylish." 

From  the  camp  we  rode  westward  up  the  val- 
ley along  the  lower  slope  of  Wilbur  Mountain, 
with  Grinnell  Mountain  on  the  south,  following 
the  river  closely  and  passing  one  by  one  the  shin- 
ing lakes  of  the  Swift  Current  chain,  hollows 
formed  by  some  glacier  but  now  brimming  with 
blue  water  and  reflecting  the  beauties  of  their 
shores. 

After  distancing  four  miles  over  a  gradually 
ascending  trail  we  became  aware  of  a  decided 
change,  when  a  sharp  turn  with  a  steep  climb 
brought  us  to  the  foot  of  the  pass.  How  our 
horses  laboured  as  they  slowly,  with  picked 
steps,  strained  their  way  up  that  steep  ascent 


TRAILS  AND  ROADS  77 

which  for  three  miles  twisted  in  a  series  of  zig- 
zags up  the  escarpment  of  that  giant  crest  of 
the  Continental  Divide  called  the  Garden  Wall. 
This  mighty  rock  mass  presents  an  almost  sheer 
ragged  wall  nearly  half  a  mile  in  height,  being 
directly  west  of  Grinnell,  Gould,  and  Wilbur 
Mountains,  three  neighbouring  giants. 

Fortunate  is  he  who  can  with  composure  sit 
in  his  saddle  with  no  anxious  moments  in  travers- 
ing such  a  trail — an  ascent  of  2,700  feet  in  eight 
miles. 

I  recalled  now  Donald's  answer,  when  in  de- 
scending Mt.  Henry  a  few  days  previous  to  this 
I  had  asked,  "Are  there  many  steeper  trails  than 
this?"  and  received  his  answer,  "Why,  I  could 
run  my  horse  down  there."  Then,  with  a  know- 
ing smile,  he  added,  "Wait  until  you  see  Swift 
Current!" 

A  tribute  should  be  paid  to  the  mountain 
horses,  which,  though  famed  neither  for  beauty 
nor  speed,  prove  themselves  so  sure-footed  and 
reliable,  and  whose  instinct  is  not  inferior  to  the 
average  human's  intelligence.  With  wonderful 
skill  they  draw  their  four  small  feet  together, 
pivoting  on  a  turn  seemingly  no  greater  than  a 
six-inch  square,  and  safely  round  the  switch 
above. 


78      GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

Upon  gaming  the  summit  of  the  pass,  Donald 
ordered  us  to  dismount  and  rest,  giving  a  breath- 
ing to  our  horses  also.  With  faces  turned  east- 
ward we  feasted  our  eyes  upon  the  rare  scene 
spread  before  us.  The  little  lakes  of  which  we 
caught  only  momentary  glimpses  through  the 
trees  in  our  ascent  were  now  revealed  in  an 
emerald  chain.  Far  beyond  lay  lower  St. 
Mary's,  sparkling  under  the  searching  light,  and 
farther  on  gleamed  Duck  Lake,  while  appearing 
on  the  horizon  one  hundred  miles  distant  rose 
the  shadowy  outlines  of  the  Sweet  Grass  Hills. 
Guarding  this  region  like  sentinels  rose  tower- 
ing mountains,  dark  and  gloomy  looking,  or 
softened  with  mantles  of  snow  in  their  upper 
stretches,  while  close  below  the  snowline,  in 
marked  contrast  were  small  meadows  carpeted 
with  flowers,  and  still  farther  below,  the  descend- 
ing slopes  were  forested  with  pines.  Countless 
waterfalls  leaped  and  played  over  cliffs,  while 
canyons  yawned  threateningly  before  our  eyes. 

Here  wre  beheld  a  region  which,  released  now 
from  the  grip  of  King  Glacier,  bore  the  mighty 
imprint  of  his  ancient  reign  in  most  marvellous 
sculpture.  What  a  wealth  of  pictures  to  store 
in  the  mind !  In  this  clear  upper  region  what  an 
inspiration!  Amid  such  stupendous  mountain 


79 

scenery  what  consciousness  of  the  frailty  of  man ! 

Having  rested  sufficiently  we  traversed  the 
pass  and  found  the  trail  led  out  on  the  west 
side  of  the  Garden  Wall  from  which  a  host  of 
kingly  mountains  were  seen.  Away  to  the  north 
lay  snowy  Mt.  Cleveland,  named  after  Grover 
Cleveland,  the  highest  in  the  Park  and  reaching 
an  altitude  of  10,346  feet.  At  close  range  loomed 
many  others,  ragged,  angular,  and  snow-covered, 
but  none  impressed  us  with  its  beauty  so  much 
as  Heaven's  Peak  toward  which  we  faced.  Four 
thousand  feet  below  but  far  away  the  upper 
shores  of  Lake  McDonald  could  just  be  seen. 
A  gradual  descent  of  a  mile  brought  us  to  Gran- 
ite Park  Chalets  for  shelter  and  rest. 

Wonderful  as  the  Swift  Current  Trail  had 
been  we  were  constrained  to  still  remain  loyal 
to  the  superb  Piegan  with  its  wide  and  mag- 
nificent vistas. 

No  one  would  think  of  missing  the  side  trip  to 
Iceberg  Lake,  that  most  wonderful  little  body 
of  water  in  America,  containing  real  icebergs 
floating  about  even  in  midsummer.  After  Swift 
Current  Trail  this  was  mere  play. 

The  seven-mile  trail  surveyed  by  engineers 
leads  from  Many  Glacier  along  the  west  slope 
of  Mt.  Altyn  through  a  beautifully  wooded  re- 


80      GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

gion.  Occasional  open  places  revealed  a  deep 
valley  through  which  a  silvery  stream  found  its 
way  with  a  background  of  mountains.  Fol- 
lowing Donald  we  rode  our  horses  abreast  a 
long  distance  over  the  wagon-wide  trail,  uncon- 
scious of  climbing,  so  gradual  was  the  ascent. 
Birds  sang  merrily.  The  sun  shone  warm  and 
bright  as  we  leisurely  jogged  along  the  beautiful 
road,  stopping  at  many  babbling  streams  rip- 
pling over  the  path  for  our  horses  to  dip  their 
noses  in  the  cold  water.  Flowers  were  in  abun- 
dance, giving  out  sweet  odours  and  peace  reigned 
over  the  region. 

After  a  few  miles  the  trail  became  more  nar- 
row and  my  companion  dropped  behind  my  horse 
as  we  rode  along  a  steep  precipice  and  descended 
into  a  beautiful  woody  glen.  The  sound  of  laugh- 
ing water  greeted  us  and  soon  we  came  into  full 
view  of  Golden  Stair  Waterfall.  The  dashing, 
foaming  water,  plunging  from  a  high  ledge  of 
rock,  leaps  successively  over  a  series  of  steps  in 
musical  tones.  Here  we  loitered  to  admire  the 
beauty  of  the  whole  scene,  then  followed  the 
winding  trail  over  a  bridge  and  began  a  series 
of  climbs  which  finally  admitted  us  into  a  rich 
meadow.  To  reach  this  we  crossed  several  small 
snowbanks  and  forded  some  streams.  The  pic- 


TRAILS  AND  ROADS  81 

ture  before  us  was  truly  one  of  charm  and  won- 
der. 

Here  lay  a  lake  6000  feet  above  sea-level  sur- 
rounded on  three  sides  by  almost  vertical  walls 
of  various  hues  3000  feet  high.  In  its  blue  depths 
were  floating  miniature  icebergs,  broken  off  from 
a  glacier  lying  on  a  mountain  shelf  across  the 
lake.  Before  the  water  spread  out  a  great  grassy 
meadow  on  which  flowers  grew  in  wild  profu- 
sion. The  air  was  sweet  and  inviting,  filled  with 
a  blend  of  snow  and  bloom. 

Here,  too,  was  the  region  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tain goat  and  the  Big  Horn  sheep.  Looking  up 
some  fifteen  hundred  feet  and  more,  we  discov- 
ered many  of  them  nimbly  making  their  way 
along  narrow  edges  and  feeding  on  green  ridges. 
Donald  spied  some  on  a  lowrer  slope  and,  seiz- 
ing a  camera,  sprang  on  Blue  Boy  to  cross  a 
turbulent  stream,  then  concealed  himself  in  some 
bushes,  thinking  that  at  close  range  he  might  get 
snap  shots.  We  waited  on  a  huge  rock  for  his 
return.  He  came  back,  triumphantly  declaring 
he  had  them,  but  the  picture  when  printed  failed 
to  disclose  any  of  these  picturesque  animals  even 
under  the  closest  inspection  with  a  magnifying 
glass. 

Another  delightful  side  trip  from  this  central 


82      GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

point  is  to  follow  Canyon  Creek  to  its  source. 
This  seven-mile  trail  appeared  to  us  as  an  in- 
teresting walk  through  the  woods  along  the 
stream  until  it  brought  us  to  Cracker  Lake.  This 
receives  its  name  from  the  fact  that  some  years 
ago  prospectors  here  had  to  live  mainly  on  crack- 
ers during  the  winter.  The  lake  nestles  at  the 
foot  of  the  commanding  Mt.  Siyeh  which  rises 
4200  feet  above  its  surface.  It  is  a  rendezvous 
for  fishermen  as  trout  are  plentiful  in  its  waters. 
Most  alluring  was  the  garden  of  wild  flowers. 
The  high  sloping  meadows  were  covered  with 
gentians,  forget-me-nots,  asters,  larkspurs,  hare- 
bells, yellow  buttercups,  columbine,  goldenrod, 
paint  brush,  saxifrage,  and  heather,  swaying  in 
the  breeze  and  making  the  air  sweet.  Fields  of 
flowers !  This  is  one  of  the  flower  regions  of  the 
Park. 

Gunsight  Pass!  The  thought  of  it  brings 
thrills  and  shivers  along  the  spine!  This  pass, 
in  itself  less  than  a  hundred  yards  across,  is  a 
depression  where  Gunsight  Mountain  joins 
Mount  Jackson,  and  lies  7,900  feet  above  sea- 
level.  The  Indians  call  it  Asocht-co-mak-thiss 
Ky-ee-kim-icht-covey,  which  means  "Gunsight 
gap." 

Fortified  with  courage  and  stimulated  with 


TRAILS  AND  ROADS  83 

a  keener  than  ever  desire  to  see  more  of  Na- 
ture's beauty-land,  we  agreed  with  enthusiasm 
when  Donald  informed  us  that  if  we  insisted  on 
crossing  the  Continental  Divide  again  we  must 
walk  across  as  there  was  too  much  snow  to  go 
safely  with  horses.  Remembering  the  miles  we 
frequently  walk  on  city  pavements  and  over 
country  roads,  the  prospect  of  a  seven-mile  tramp 
did  not  dampen  our  ardour.  Besides  we  liked 
variety  in  the  ways  of  seeing  the  Park. 

Leaving  Sperry  Camp,  after  a  good  breakfast 
we  followed  the  trail  up  and  up  a  thousand  feet 
until  the  timber  line  was  passed,  then  suddenly 
plunged  into  dwarfed  vegetation,  and  on  again, 
always  climbing  up,  up,  until,  breathless  with  the 
effort  of  locomotion,  we  reached  the  narrow  pass 
below  the  summit  of  Mt.  Lincoln  where  we  rested 
a  half  hour.  Having  recovered  our  breath  some- 
what, more  climbing  and  a  sudden  turn  revealed 
lovely  Lake  Ellen  Wilson,  re-named  from  Lake 
Louise,  on  whose  mirrored  surface  lay  the  shad- 
ows of  mountains  and  clouds  in  perfect  sem- 
blance of  the  real. 

Soon  came  the  ascent  again  in  a  series  of  zig- 
zags and  the  most  precipitous  slope  to  scale.  A 
Herculean  climb  was  before  us.  Each  step  was 
to  be  measured  with  judgment  and  caution. 


84      GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

Here  Donald  uncoiled  his  rope  and  carelessly  re- 
marked we  might  look  more  stylish  if  we  each 
carried  a  twist  of  rope  about  the  waist.  We 
noticed  he  crept  most  cautiously  along  only 
slightly  in  advance  for  we  were  entering  upon 
patches  of  deep  snow. 

Now  we  were  in  the  Pass  filled  with  deep  snow! 
Hugging  closely  the  mountain-side  we  ploughed 
slowly  along  and  at  times  so  precipitous  was  the 
way,  we  actually  crept  on  both  hands  and  feet 
to  stay  our  footing.  Pussy-mittens  were  a  bless- 
ing now,  thanks  to  our  foresight.  We  realised 
with  every  step  how  impossible  it  would  be  for 
horses  to  traverse  the  Pass  when  snow-bound. 

Emerging  from  the  farther  side  we  looked 
upon  a  mountain  scene  well  worth  the  fatigue, 
fright,  and  nervous  tension  just  endured.  Lofty 
Gunsight  Mountain  on  the  west  with  its  sum- 
mit swathed  in  snow  towered  to  a  height  of  9250 
feet.  Over  its  face  tumbled  fifteen  or  twenty 
shining  waterfalls,  released  from  those  snowfields 
and  wildly  streaming  down  toward  Gunsight 
Lake,  lying  like  a  jewel  3000  feet  below.  To- 
ward the  east  rose  Mt.  Jackson,  one  of  the 
most  majestic  mountains  of  the  Park,  over  10,000 
feet  high,  with  its  dark  surface  of  bare  rock  re- 
lieved by  great  shining  bands  of  glistening  white- 


TRAILS  AND  ROADS  85 

ness.  A  region  of  awe-inspiring  mountains! 
Commanding  attention  and  admiration  in  part 
view  were  Fusillade,  Citadel,  and  Almost-a-Dog, 
while  away  to  the  northeast  rose  that  glorious  and 
incomparable  king  of  mountains,  Going-to-the- 
Sun,  upon  whose  crest  is  imprinted  the  likeness 
of  the  great  Sour  Spirit. 

Donald,  inured  to  such  grandeur,  hinted  the 
descending  trail  of  three  miles  was  very  steep 
and  we  must  be  on  our  way.  Down  the  north 
side  of  Mt.  Jackson  we  picked  our  way  with 
eyes  fixed  to  the  path.  More  snow  was  encoun- 
tered before  we  reached  the  vegetation  line. 
Once  a  shout  and  gesture  from  Donald  caused 
us  to  look  on  a  distant  snow-covered  slope  in 
time  to  see  a  grizzly  making  his  way  to  an  upper 
level.  Flowers  and  grass  began  to  appear  and 
the  trail  led  on  down  in  full  view  of  the  emerald 
lake  and  thence  to  the  chalets  built  on  its  shore. 
With  stiffened  joints  and  aching  backs,  but  with 
happy  hearts  and  minds  stored  with  new  thoughts 
and  pictures,  we  appreciated  the  comfort  and 
rest  awaiting  us.  In  the  morning  curiosity 
prompted  us  to  look  up  at  the  trail,  appearing 
like  a  thread  winding  along  the  face  of  the  for- 
bidding mountain,  and  we  gloried  in  our  courage. 
We  had  crossed  Gunsight! 


86      GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

Should  one  wish  to  start  a  cupful  of  water 
in  three  directions  he  must  ascend  to  the  sum- 
mit of  Triple  Divide  Peak,  six  miles  from  Cut 
Bank  Camp.  At  present  there  is  no  trail  and 
this  can  be  undertaken  only  by  mountain  climb- 
ers. Next  year  a  good  trail  will  be  ready  for 
use  and  the  tourist  may  easily  ride  to  the  point 
where  he  can  see  water  parting  ways  toward  the 
Arctic  Ocean,  the  Pacific  Ocean,  and  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico. 

The  Mt.  Henry  and  Piegan  trails,  both  com- 
manding great  stretches  of  mountain  scenery, 
have  been  described  at  length  in  other  chapters. 

The  spell  of  a  mountain  trail  in  Glacier  Park 
holds  one,  and  the  longing  to  traverse  those  wild 
and  picturesque  regions  intensifies  the  longer  he 
lives  in  the  centres  of  civilisation  amid  the  arti- 
ficial environment  of  a  modern  life. 


CHAPTER  V 

THE  OLD  TRAVOIS  TRAIL 

EVERAL  hundred  years  ago,  or  even 
farther  back  into  the  shadowy  past,  there 
existed  a  travel  trail,  old  at  that  time.  This  high- 
way began  somewhere  in  Mexico  or  even  in  the 
jungles  of  Central  America  or  Peru,  and  ex- 
tended northward  along  the  eastern  base  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains  to  the  Saskatchewan  River 
where  Edmonton  now  stands,  thence  northwest- 
ward to  Egg  Lake  and  continued  on  until  lost 
in  the  barren  wilderness  of  the  Far  North.  This 
runway  was  the  main  artery  of  travel  and  the 
scene  of  romance,  of  cruel  bloodshed,  and  of 
thrilling  deeds  of  the  Indians  who  roamed  up 
and  down  the  land  without  restraint.  The  Black- 
feet  Indian  name  for  this  trail  was  Mee-sah- 
mooe-yay-mook-so-cooey-all-stootch  -  meh  -  stuck  - 
icht-tew-wow-wochk-kah,  which  means,  "The  old 
trail  that  close  to  the  mountain  passes." 

Two  advantages  were  to  be  had  in  this  trail 
crossing  the  foothills.    It  hid  the  traveller  and 

87 


88      GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

at  the  same  time  furnished  him  lookout  points 
from  where  for  miles  the  trail  could  be  seen  cross- 
ing the  high  foothill  ridges.  Bands  of  raiding 
Indians  swept  back  and  forth  across  the  plains, 
preying  upon  each  other.  Therefore  it  was  nec- 
essary to  travel  secretly  and  in  numbers  suffi- 
cient to  resist  the  attacks  of  these  savage  warriors 
whose  only  business  in  life  seemed  to  kill.  Each 
man  travelled  with  his  ears  and  eyes  open,  never 
losing  himself  entirely  in  sleep.  He  was  con- 
tinually looking  for  some  raiding  party  to  swoop 
down  upon  his  camp  or  attack  his  party  en  route 
no  matter  where  he  was  going. 

Hence  this  old  trail  followed  the  foothill  coun- 
try up  and  down  through  valley  and  over  ridge 
in  line  of  least  resistance  for  thousands  of  miles. 
He  who  travelled  it  held  his  party  in  the  valley 
while  scouts  went  ahead  to  climb  the  hills  and 
spy  out  the  country  yet  to  be  traversed  and  to 
look  back  upon  the  already  travelled  trail,  thus 
guarding  against  enemies  in  either  direction. 

This  trail  was  in  existence  and  continuous  the 
length  of  the  land  before  the  Indians  had  horses 
and  was  used  in  part  by  all  tribes.  Then  the 
Indians  obtained  horses  from  the  white  explorers 
and  began  using  them  as  pack  animals,  but  still 
following  the  same  trail. 


THE  OLD  TRAVOIS  TRAIL       89 

Finally  some  ingenious  Indian  contrived  the 
travois.  This  was  made  of  two  tepee  poles  serv- 
ing as  shafts  and  fastened  so  that  they  crossed 
above  the  horse's  withers.  These  trailed  down- 
ward and  backward  with  the  large  ends  dragging 
along  the  ground.  In  the  space  back  of  the  horse 
was  lashed  a  skin  or  blanket,  forming  a  sort  of 
baggy  pocket,  into  which  the  Indian  loaded  his 
children,  dogs,  dried  meat,  or  anything  he  wished 
to  move.  Often  the  whole  family  travelled  by 
travois,  one  member  riding  the  horse  to  guide 
and  keep  him  moving  forward. 

After  a  time  the  tepee  poles  dragging  on  the 
ground  marked  well  defined  tracks  about  as  wide 
and  in  about  the  same  way  as  wagon  wheels  cut 
a  new  road.  This  was  now  the  old  travois  trail 
appearing  from  the  sky  in  the  South  and  dis- 
appearing into  the  sky  in  the  cold  North,  con- 
tinuous over  the  yellow  buffalo-grass  hills,  cross- 
ing shallow  turbulent  streams,  descending  into 
valleys,  winding  through  pine  forest  edging  on 
the  plains,  and  traversing  white  alkali  stretches 
— on  and  on  in  an  unending  line.  The  trail  al- 
ways followed  the  best  grade  from  the  hill  top 
to  the  next  low  point  ahead,  for  these  trail- 
makers  had  object  lessons  from  the  buffalo  in 
this  respect,  which  is  the  best  engineer  known, 


90      GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

because  he  always  made  a  steady  grade  from  the 
lowest  point  where  water  was  found  to  the  high- 
est point  on  his  feeding  range. 

The  Hudson  Bay  Company  began  their  fur- 
trading  operations  about  the  time  when  the  In- 
dians were  making  the  old  travois  trail.  Their 
fur  trade  with  the  Red  men  extended  all  over 
the  North  and  even  reached  as  far  south  as  Mex- 
ico. The  trappers  came  in  from  the  mountains 
and  over  high  passes,  using  old  Indian  trails  un- 
til they  hit  this  old  travois  over  which  they  could 
carry  their  furs  northward  by  pack-horse  to  the 
Company's  trading  posts,  and  there  exchange 
them  for  things  they  needed. 

Is  it  any  wonder  that  members  of  the  old  Hud- 
son Bay  Company  laid  the  foundations  of  wealth 
for  their  posterity?  The  price  of  a  muzzle  load- 
ing flint-lock  gun  in  those  days  was  fixed  and 
unchangeable.  Never  a  bargain  sale !  This  fire- 
arm had  an  extraordinarily  long  barrel  that 
reached  to  the  top  of  a  man's  head  when  the 
butt  rested  on  the  ground.  The  Indian  who 
wanted  it  must  stand  it  thus  on  the  ground  and 
lay  beaver  or  other  equally  valuable  skins  flat, 
one  above  the  other,  until  the  pile  reached  to  the 
top  of  the  barrel.  Thus  the  white  man  charged 
his  red  brother  a  paltry  seven  or  eight  thousand 


THE  OLD  TRAVOIS  TRAIL       91 

for  a  gun.  Powder  and  lead  were  exchanged 
with  equal  advantage  to  the  fur-trader,  preying 
upon  the  Indian's  ignorance  of  the  value  of  the 
furs.  Immense  quantities  of  prime  furs  thus 
went  north  over  the  old  trail,  were  packed  at 
the  posts  and  sent  down  the  Saskatchewan, 
and  thence  shipped  to  England  where  a  ready 
market  awaited  them. 

The  buffalo  roamed  over  this  wild  region  and 
far  into  the  mountains  so  the  travellers  over  the 
trail  found  easy  game  as  is  evidenced  by  the  thou- 
sands of  bleached  bones  lying  on  the  hillsides 
within  shooting  distance  of  the  old  travois.  Some 
twenty-five  or  thirty  years  ago  bone  hunters 
gathered  great  quantities  of  these  bones  and 
shipped  them  east  to  be  made  into  a  fertiliser. 

The  dry  air  of  the  foot-hills  region  just  east 
of  Glacier  Park  has  preserved  the  bones  of  these 
animals  as  mute  evidence  of  conditions  prevailing 
in  that  region  of  an  early  day,  and  by  these  the 
old  faint  grass-grown  travois  can  be  traced.  To 
him  who  rides  the  faint  line  of  this  old  trail  with 
the  history  of  the  region  fresh  in  mind,  there 
comes  a  tinge  of  melancholy  and  longing  for 
things  long  since  passed  away.  No  more  are 
seen  the  buffalo  herds  which  in  the  old  days  were 
the  guardsmen  of  that  land.  If  no  disturbance 


92      GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

was  in  sight  they  only  moved  in  feeding  or  in 
long  lines  up  and  down  the  trail  to  and  from 
water.  But  if  disturbed  they  stampeded  in  thou- 
sands. Thus,  he  who  rode  over  the  old  travois 
anxiously  kept  an  eye  on  these  true  monitors 
whose  sign  of  quiet  or  disturbance  faithfully  in- 
dicated whether  he  might  travel  in  safety  or  look 
for  enemies. 

Many  interesting  things  were  associated  with 
the  old  travois  trail.  Sometimes  a  party  trav- 
elled peacefully  the  entire  length  of  its  jour- 
ney; sometimes  it  was  suddenly  surprised  and 
mad  war  ensued;  sometimes  a  strong  party 
would  be  attacked  at  every  point  of  the  trail  by 
warriors  in  ambush  who  reached  out  and  took 
the  scalp  of  any  straggler  or  of  him  who  drifted 
too  close  to  the  lurking  place,  and  sometimes  an 
entire  company  of  travellers,  either  white  or  red, 
would  be  absolutely  wiped  out  of  existence  by  a 
superior  war-band  rushing  with  a  wild  whoop 
upon  them  from  some  side  coulee.  In  this  case 
the  furs  were  delayed  somewhat,  but  eventually 
reached  the  trading  post  where  they  were  traded 
by  the  victors  for  guns  and  other  things. 

A  glamour  of  romance  and  mystery  overhangs 
these  old  two  faded  lines  of  grass-grown  trail  ex- 
tending from  the  Saskatchewan  to  the  Rio 


THE  OLD  TRAVOIS  TRAIL       93 

Grande  and  even  beyond.  Eloquently  do  the 
ruined  war  camps,  disintegrating  under  atmos- 
pheric conditions,  and  the  piles  of  whitening 
bones  of  both  men  and  animals  tell  a  story  of 
travel,  of  red  war,  and  of  defence  to  him  who 
understands  the  signs. 

The  rider,  traversing  the  big  Buffalo  Ridge 
which  separates  the  Two  Medicine  River  from 
the  Cut  Bank,  may  see  this  trail  plainly  as  it  fol- 
lows the  ridge  for  many  miles  as  two  parallel 
depressions  in  the  bunch  grass  which  now  covers 
the  old  trail  and  the  adjoining  side  hills.  At 
the  end  of  Buffalo  Ridge  where  it  pitches  almost 
straight  down  into  the  valley  between  the  Ridge 
and  Sheep  Mountain  is  a  natural  lookout  point 
commanding  an  extensive  survey. ' 

On  this  point  is  an  old  war  lodge  of  the  Black- 
feet,  cunningly  hidden  and  cleverly  placed. 
Scouts  placed  here  were  able  to  scan  a  thousand 
square  miles  of  buffalo  range  to  the  eastward. 
Warning  could  thus  be  given  to  their  people 
hours  in  advance  should  any  warring  Kootenais 
or  Flatheads  attempt  a  raid  into  the  Blackfeet 
country  from  west  of  the  main  range,  for  such 
raiding  bands  would  have  to  travel  many  hours 
in  sight  of  the  watchers  before  coming  within 
striking  distance  of  the  Blackfeet.  This  war 


94      GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

lookout  in  touch  with  three  river  routes  by  the 
way  of  the  Two  Medicine,  Cut  Bank  and  Milk 
Rivers,  all  swinging  into  or  near  the  old  travois, 
was  a  strategic  point  and  enabled  the  Blackfeet 
to  gather  their  forces  long  in  advance  and  rush 
out  to  meet  the  enemy. 

On  the  Cut  Bank  is  a  great  stone  pile  covering 
the  bones  of  a  big  Indian  party,  either  Kootenais 
or  Flatheads,  that  were  thus  caught  by  the  Black- 
feet  and  all  killed  except  one  old  woman  and 
two  children  who  escaped  and  finally  reached 
their  people  in  the  west.  The  Flatheads  later 
erected  the  pile  of  stones  as  a  monument  to  mark 
the  spot  where  the  invaders  were  met  and  fell. 

Farther  south  on  Bear  Creek  is  an  old  battle- 
field of  ten  acres  filled  with  Indian  bones  half 
buried  under  the  mould.  The  older  Blackfeet 
tell  of  a  red-handed  struggle  between  their  peo- 
ple who  went  out  to  meet  the  invading  Flatheads. 
So  to-day  the  bones  of  both  tribes  are  lying  side 
by  side  in  this  field  at  the  head  of  Bear  Creek. 
This  spot  can  be  seen  from  every  Great  North- 
ern train  crossing  the  Divide  for  it  lies  only  five 
or  six  hundred  yards  southeast  of  the  site  of 
old  McCarthysville,  in  the  flat  just  west  of  Sky- 
land. 

From  the  old  travois  trail  many  high  moun- 


THE  OLD  TRAVOIS  TRAIL       95 

tains  are  in  view.  Chief  Mountain  or  Nin-now- 
Stah-koo,  meaning  mountain-of-jthe-chief,  is  the 
last  high  outlying  peak  visible  to  the  north  and 
lies  far  eastward  from  any  other  mountain.  Then 
there  is  the  Hudson  Bay  Divide  which  separates 
the  waters  flowing  north  from  those  flowing 
south  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  Over  this  divide 
the  trail  crosses. 

Divide  Mountain  is  the  last  mountain  that 
stands  out  in  the  main  chain  and  rests  on  the 
Hudson  Bay  Divide.  '  It  is  a  triangular  peak  ris- 
ing against  the  sky  and  forms  the  ridge  pole  of 
the  roof  of  the  continent.  Farther  back  may  be 
seen  a  billowy  wave  of  noble  white-crested  moun- 
tains— Going-to-the-Sun,  with  the  gigantic  face 
on  its  side;  Triple  Divide  Peak,  separating  the 
waters  running  -to  Hudson's  Bay,  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico  and  the  Pacific  Ocean;  Red  Eagle  Moun- 
tain; Little  Chief;  Almost-a-Dog  with  its  mas- 
sive walls;  Rising  Wolf,  and  a  host  of  other  si- 
lent, dignified  mountains  standing  as  Nature  has 
placed  them. 

This  old  trail  may  be  traced  relative  to  Glacier 
Park  and  thence  on  until  lost  in  distance.  Pass- 
ing Lower  St.  Mary's  Lake,  which  was  called 
"Good  Spirit  Woman"  Lake,  or  Pah-toh-ahk- 
kee-co-O-mock-sick-i-me,  it  crosses  the  south  fork 


96      GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

of  Milk  River  and  also  the  Cutbank  River,  called 
Poh-nah-kee-eeks-Nay-a-tah-tah,  which  to  the 
Blackfeet  means  the  "River-that-cuts-into-the- 
white-clay-bank."  South  of  Spot  Mountain  it 
follows  along  Lower  Two  Medicine  Lake  and 
crosses  Two  Medicine  River  which  the  Blackfeet 
call  Maht-oh-kee-oh-kahas  Nay-a-tah-tah. 

About  two  hundred  yards  west  of  the  Two 
Medicine  Bridge  and  about  two  miles  out  from 
the  Glacier  Park  Hotel,  the  trail  crosses  the 
Great  Northern  Railroad  at  the  west  end  of  the 
small  cut,  and  also  at  the  northeast  corner  of  a 
pasture  which  is  fenced  with  barbed  wire  and 
belongs  to  old  Tom  Dawson,  a  half  Piegan  and 
an  old  timer  in  Montana.  Plainly  visible  is  it 
here  from  the  south  side  of  the  road  skirting 
along  the  south  side  of  Dawson's  fence.  Every 
traveller  can  easily  distinguish  it  for  it  is  almost 
at  the  station  of  Midvale  and  only  a  short  dis- 
tance from  where  the  train  stops.  Just  here  the 
trail  is  at  the  foot  of  Squaw  Mountain. 

South  from  the  railroad  the  old  trail  winds 
down  along  Two  Medicine  River  and  Badger 
Creek,  then  runs  on  east  around  a  spur  of  the 
Rockies  which  separates  the  Two  Medicine  re- 
gion from  the  Sun  River  country.  On  Sun  River 
the  trail  divides,  one  branch  following  that  stream 


THE  OLD  TRAVOIS  TRAIL       97 

and  passing  where  the  city  of  Great  Falls  is  now 
located,  thence  on  down  the  Missouri  to  Fort 
Benton.  This  part  of  the  old  trail  from  Fort 
Benton  to  the  foothills  was  made  during  the 
Hudson  Bay  Company's  period  of  operation  and 
over  it  their  supplies,  brought  up  the  Missouri 
in  boats,  were  packed  west  to  the  foot-hills  where 
the  old  travois  leading  north  was  struck.  This 
portion  of  the  trail  only  dates  back  to  the  days 
when  the  white  men  entered  the  country. 

From  Sun  River  the  old  time  travois  trail  con- 
tinued south,  one  branch  crossing  the  main  range 
of  the  Rocky  Mountains  southwest  of  Helena, 
and  extending  down  into  the  Snake  River  basin, 
branching  and  re-branching  into  all  the  f tir  coun- 
try of  that  basin.  It  also  reached  into  the  Co- 
lumbia valley  and  again  into  Salt  Lake  valley 
from  which  region  the  Indians  obtained  their 
supply  of  salt  in  early  days. 

The  main  trail,  however,  continued  southward, 
along  the  east  side  of  the  Rockies,  always  lying 
close  to  the  base  of  the  mountains  from  where 
strategic  points  could  be  held. 

In  a  few  years  this  old  trail  will  have  vanished. 
The  weather  is  taxing  it  and  streams  are  wash- 
ing and  cutting  it  away;  cattle  men  have  fenced 
in  portions  of  it  and  again  in  other  places  it  has 


98      GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

changed  into  a  cow  trail.  It  can  be  traced  fully 
now  only  by  the  older  men  who  used  to  travel 
it  in  the  days  of  the  travois,  or  in  later  times 
when  the  old  Red  River  cart  took  the  place  of 
the  travois.  This  old  vehicle,  awkward  and 
lumbering  though  it  was,  served  its  purpose. 
Difficult  would  it  be  to-day  to  find  a  Red  River 
cart,  and  almost  impossible  to  find  one  of  the  old 
time  travois,  but  there  are  men  in  Montana  to- 
day who  used  both  and  even  the  pack-horse  be- 
fore either  of  these  was  thought  of. 

These  same  men  can  recall  the  days  of  the 
Whiskey  Smugglers  whose  knowledge  of  the  old 
travois  trail  enabled  them  to  use  it  as  a  "get- 
away" trail  to  reach  inaccessible  hidden  places 
far  into  the  mountains  where  they  might  stay, 
and  thus  escape  the  officers. 

Major  Logan  and  his  United  States  troops 
travelled  part  of  this  trail  when  they  explored 
Glacier  Park  for  the  government.  Major  Logan 
was  the  first  superintendent  of  the  Park. 

When  you  pass  this  old  trail  at  Midvale  on 
the  Great  Northern  and  look  upon  its  dim  two- 
lined  marks,  remember  it  was  once  the  main  high- 
way of  travel,  winding  its  way  from  the  South 
over  the  wind-swept  hills  far  into  the  North,  and 
the  scene  of  many  activities.  Should  sufficient 


THE  OLD  TRAVOIS  TRAIL       99 

interest  stimulate  you,  read  the  first  reports 
brought  in  by  the  pioneers  into  the  wilderness, 
who,  returning,  told  the  priests  what  they  had 
seen  and  experienced;  of  the  official  reports  of 
Lewis  and  Clark  who  followed  portions  of  this 
old  travois  trail  in  their  adventurous  expedition; 
of  the  accounts  later  of  army  officers;  and  the 
many  interesting  stories  told  by  historians  who 
have  drawn  from  all  these  sources. 

The  beautiful  Automobile  Highway  now  con- 
necting the  Glacier  Park  Hotel  at  the  entrance 
with  the  Many  Glacier  Hotel,  deep  into  the 
mountains,  follows  this  old  trail  for  mile  on 
mile  along  the  east  side  of  the  range  except  where 
it  swings  away  from  the  trail  because  lookout 
points  are  no  longer  necessary.  Occasionally 
as  you  are  speeding  along  the  driver  of  the  ben- 
zine-wagon may  point  to  some  tracks  faded  and 
worn  and  carelessly  remark,  "The  old  travois 
*rail  crosses  there,"  and  you  may  look  good  na- 
turedly  and  perhaps  curiously  upon  these  old 
vanishing  lines,  meaning  nothing  to  you,  which 
have  carried  so  much  the  woes,  joy,  mystery,  and 
romance  of  an  early  day. 


CHAPTER  VI 

PIEGAN  PASS — THE  FLOWER  PASS 

PIEGAN  PASS  must  always  loom  large 
in  memories  of  Glacier  National  Park. 
For  one  thing,  the  views  are  incomparable,  con- 
taining all  values  and  tones  of  mountain  beauty, 
linking  the  Going-to-the-Sun  and  Gunsight 
camps  with  the  Many  Glacier  region  by  a  north 
and  south  trail.  For  another  thing,  it  is  the 
"Flower  Pass,"  albeit  one  of  the  three  skyland 
trails. 

We  had  not  seen  our  fill  of  lovely  and  lofty 
Gunsight  Lake,  6,000  feet  above  the  sea  yet  in 
the  shadow  of  Mount  Jackson,  with  its  perpen- 
dicular walls  of  rock  down  which  countless 
waterfalls  tumble,  sometimes  blown  into  misty 
spray;  but  the  "Wanderlust"  was  upon  us  again 
and  we  were  impatient  to  see  the  Many  Glacier 
region — the  very  heart  of  the  Park  itself. 

We  must  be  away  with  the  rising  sun,  so 
Donald  said,  for  the  ride  would  be  a  long  and 
strenuous  one — twenty-six  miles  of  wonderful 

100 


PIEGAN  PASS  101 

panorama  of  unsurpassed  grandeur,  of  contrasts 
in  the  flower-bedecked  valleys,  the  solemnity  and 
hush  of  great  forests,  the  precipitous  rock-walled 
canyon,  and  the  world  of  snow-mantled  peaks  in 
all  their  majesty. 

I  awoke  long  before  the  time  set  for  our  de- 
parture. It  was  the  beginning  of  the  long  twi- 
light that  precedes  the  dawn.  Here  was  my 
long-wished-for  opportunity  to  see  the  moun- 
tains when  the  cloud  effect  and  light  are  said 
to  be  more  beautiful  than  at  any  other  hour  of 
the  day. 

Hastily  dressing,  I  stepped  out  on  the  little 
balcony  of  the  chalet.  Gunsight  Lake,  gleam- 
ing at  times  like  silver  or  gold,  or  like  an  emerald 
catching  every  mood  of  the  skies,  or  again,  when 
the  sun  uses  it  for  a  mirror  to  reflect  the  snows 
or  the  greys  and  greens  of  its  precipitous  walls 
strikingly  on  its  smooth  surface,  lay  before  me, 
but  a  stone's  throw  away,  in  glassy  dark-green 
stillness. 

There  was  yet  too  much  shadow  so  that  objects 
on  the  distant  shores  appeared  misty  and  indis- 
tinct; but  hardly  had  I  become  accustomed  to 
the  scene  before  it  changed.  The  dark  spots 
were  brightening  into  light  and  along  the  snowy 
crest  of  the  mighty  mass — Mount  Jackson— 


came  first  faint  flushes  of  pink  which  quickly 
changed  to  pale  lavender  and  grey-blue.  It 
seemed  that  only  a  few  moments  passed  when 
the  lower  slopes  glowed  softly  green,  and  the 
water,  which  at  the  instant  changed  from  dark 
to  metallic  grey,  reflected  all — moving  trailing 
clouds  and  blue  sky  above,  dark  shadows  of  the 
wooded  banks,  and  the  rough  gaps  and  snow- 
filled  notches  of  the  peaks. 

The  day  was  surely  coming  on,  for  in  a  nearby 
tree  a  robin  sounded  his  clarion  notes,  "Cheer 
up,  cheer  up,  cheerily,  cheer  up,"  quickly  to  be 
answered  by  a  score  of  other  birds.  Nothing 
seemed  to  stir,  so  the  notes  from  meadow,  hill, 
and  higher  level  mingled,  though  they  were  easily 
distinguishable.  I  wondered  at  the  number  and 
kind  that  were  familiar  to  me  on  the  plains — 
the  red-winged  blackbird's  rich,  juicy  note,  the 
white-throated  sparrow's  plaintive  cadence,  the 
light  tremolo  of  the  chipping  sparrow,  the  cat- 
bird's whistle  and  the  bluebird's  low,  sweet  call. 

I  had  quite  forgotten  the  lake  and  the  light 
in  my  keen  enjoyment  of  this  matin  chorus  of 
the  birds.  As  I  looked  up  again,  the  first  rays 
of  the  sun  were  resting  on  the  shining  moun- 
tain peaks. 

At  seven  o'clock  our  horses  were  saddled,  and 


PIEGAN  PASS  103 

soon  we  were  off,  hitting  the  trail  which  leads 
on  the  side  of  Fusillade  Mountain  in  full  view 
of  Mount  Jackson,  Citadel  Mountain,  Little 
Chief  Mountain,  and  Blackfeet  Glacier,  a  cold 
white  field  of  snow  stretching  five  miles  across 
the  top  and  narrowing  down  to  the  valley  below. 
Its  many  crevasses,  its  treacherous  surface,  and 
frightful  slopes  of  ice  and  snow  impress  one  with 
its  wild  beauty. 

Citadel  Mountain  at  our  right  stood  out  boldly 
like  a  fortress.  Its  walls  looked  stern,  rugged, 
and  grey.  Almost  an  awesome  sight  is  this 
mighty  rock-piled  mass,  practically  filling  the 
entire  view.  Set  in  a  lovely  forest  of  dark  green 
spruces,  firs,  and  pines,  it  rose  dark  and  sinister 
in  the  glorious  morning  sunlight. 

Yet  with  every  turn  that  our  horses  made,  the 
picture  changed  and  the  grandeur  of  this  great 
hill  stood  out  wonderfully  against  the  flowery 
carpet  of  the  lower  valley.  The  shade  and  shadow 
of  the  timber  hid  many  spots  of  beauty  as  our 
trail  led  down,  down  to  the  lovely  meadows  of 
the  Upper  St.  Mary's  River. 

Here  our  trail  turned  and  led  us  up  hill  again 
for  many  miles  on  the  side  of  the  finest  peak 
in  the  Park — the  romantic  and  superb  Going-to- 
the-Sun  Mountain. 


104    GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

One  by  one  the  beauties  of  the  valley  and  the 
forest  were  revealed.  Ever  and  anon  we  crossed 
turbulent  mountain  streams  that  broke  in  their 
course  into  waterfalls  which  leaped  hundreds 
of  feet  and  sprayed  with  their  moisture  the 
mosses,  feathery  ferns,  and  dwarf  poplars  cling- 
ing to  the  black  rocks  close  by. 

We  soon  left  the  lower  region  of  sap-green 
poplar  and  spruces  and  entered  the  deep  woods 
—the  idyllic  quiet  and  loveliness,  the  sunshine 
and  shadow,  the  wild  stillness  of  the  forest  of 
Going-to-the-Sun.  Immediately  we  seemed  to 
be  shut  away  from  the  world.  We  fancied  we 
were  utterly  alone.  No  steps  but  those  our  horses 
made  broke  the  stillness  of  those  sombre  shades. 
We  seemd  isolated,  for  no  voices  but  our  own 
penetrated  the  depths.  Wherever  we  looked 
were  luxuriant  growths  that  seemed  to  give  the 
storm  beaten  rocks  peace  and  protection.  Across 
the  dark  branches  of  the  pines  the  sunbeams 
struck  out  paths  of  deep  gold  and  the  light 
mingled  among  the  branches  only  to  set  off  the 
more  the  tracery  of  boughs  and  leaves. 

Often  the  breeze  arose  and  the  delicate 
branches  cracked  and  rattled  as  they  moved. 
We  thought  it  moaning  music — this  singing  of 
the  pines.  This  forest,  so  grand  and  proud,  re- 


PIEGAN  PASS  105 

minded  me  of  some  great  cathedral  with  the  giant 
trees  for  arches  and  the  open  spaces,  made  by 
leaves  and  branches — the  tracery  and  windows. 

We  seemed  alone ;  but  we  were  not  alone.  The 
birds  gave  us  their  call  or  scrap  of  melody.  A 
humming-bird  fluttered  in  a  thicket  so  near  that 
I  could  have  touched  him  with  my  hand.  Far 
off  the  mocking-bird's  wild  thrilling  notes  or  the 
blackpoll  warbler's  shrill  call  note,  crescendo  and 
decrescendo,  "S creep — screep"  could  be  heard  in 
contrast  to  the  red-start's  rapid  warble.  Again 
and  again  we  stopped  in  ecstasy  over  the  wild, 
sweet  canary-like  song  of  the  gold-finch  and  ths 
vireo's  liquid  "Brigadier,  Brigadier,  Brigatte." 
Nor  was  this  all  the  music  that  we  heard,  for 
strange,  soft,  tangled  tones  came  often  to  our 
ears — the  faint  babbling  of  the  brook  over  stones, 
the  low  whispering  of  the  trees,  and  the  sweet 
lullaby  of  the  waterfalls. 

It  was  just  noon  when  we  emerged  from  the 
timber  through  which  we  had  climbed  for  hours. 
Donald  had  promised  us  a  "camping  site"  when 
lunch-time  came  on  the  green  uplands  of  Go- 
ing-to-the-Sun.  Here  we  came  upon  Charles, 
the  violinist — Charles  and  his  athletic  friend 
who  had  persuaded  him  to  make  a  walking  tour 
through  the  Park. 


106    GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

To  be  sure  there  is  no  more  delightful  way  to 
go  through  Glacier  National  Park  than  by  walk- 
ing. In  no  other  way  can  you  see  this  great  play- 
ground so  intimately — if  you  are  a  tourist  fond 
of  and  used  to  walking,  and  if  time  is  no  con- 
sideration, and,  better  still,  if  you  walk  with  a 
friend — a  true  companion — who  will  enjoy 
the  views,  who  will  study  the  things  you  like, 
with  you,  who  will  talk  with  you  and  stop  with 
you. 

Not  so  with  Charles — happy-go-lucky  Charles, 
who  had  never  walked  a  mile  before,  who  moved 
so  "majestically,"  as  his  friend  impatiently  re- 
marked— Charles  who  heard  music  in  every  sound 
and  who  picked  a  legend  with  every  flower.  He 
should  never  have  started  out  with  him  who  twice 
had  won  the  Marathon.  Verily,  Charles  was 
"trailing  it"  over  the  trails  with  a  will-o'-wisp  for 
a  comrade. 

One  day  we  met  these  two  just  after  they  had 
crossed  the  snow-covered  trail  and  pass  at  Sperry. 
Gladly  would  Charles  then  and  there  have  "re- 
signed" or  rested  a  day  or  two,  but  Marathon 
Runner  was  still  fresh  and  eager  to  push  on  to 
Going-to-the-Sun,  and  perhaps  "make"  Piegan 
Pass  the  same  day  that  we  had  planned,  and  he, 
of  course,  prevailed. 


PIEGAN  PASS  107 

So  we  bade  them  "Auf  Wiedersehen"  and 
here  on  the  high  mountain's  green  we  caught 
their  "Yo-ho-ho!"  and  "Wie  gehts?"  before  we 
discovered  them. 

They,  too,  were  looking  for  a  place  to  eat 
their  lunch.  Most  pleasantly  we  spent  an  hour 
together  on  the  banks  of  a  babbling  brook,  en- 
joying the  wide  views  of  shining  peaks,  great 
mountain  profiles,  green-covered  hills  and  bril- 
liant mountain  meadows  spotted  with  large 
patches  of  soft  fresh  snow. 

Ahead  of  us  we  could  see  the  "exciting"  stretch 
of  our  ride — the  long,  bare,  high  trail,  blasted  out 
of  the  solid  rock  on  the  dizzy  heights  of  the  moun- 
tain side,  looking  like  nothing  so  much  as  a  silken 
thread,  and  leading  for  nearly  three  miles  to  the 
pass.  Even  to  those  who  have  ridden  at  great 
heights  this  part  of  the  trail  might  give  disquiet- 
ing thoughts.  This  day,  too,  it  was  not  free 
from  snow  in  several  places. 

Surely  it  is  absurd  to  speak  of  one  spot  in  the 
Park  as  being  more  wonderful  or  more  beau- 
tiful than  another.  It  all  depends  upon  the  tour- 
ist and  more  upon  the  mood.  All  the  views  are 
strikingly  different  and  all  are  truly  magnificent 
but  I  cannot  imagine  a  more  impressive  sight, 
a  larger  view,  and  a  more  varied  panorama  of 


108    GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

glorious  mountain  scenery  than  which  one  sees 
from  the  heights  of  Piegan  Pass.  Here  are  Pie- 
gan  Mountain,  Going-to-the-Sun  Mountain, 
Grinnell  Mountain  and  its  glacier,  Allen  Moun- 
tain, Sexton  Glacier,  Siyeh  Mountain  and  last 
but  not  least  the  Garden  Wall,  while  immediately 
below  lie  dark  deep  valleys  in  the  shadows. 

I  cannot  imaginethow  mountains  anywhere  can 
display  finer  qualities — the  infinite  beauty  and 
solitary  grandeur  of  snowy  peaks,  the  bare,  cold 
rock-walls,  the  promontories  with  their  feathered 
cliffs  and  rocky  caves,  and  the  gentler  and  more 
sylvan  beauties  of  the  purple  valleys.  Here  one 
meets  Nature  face  to  face  and  regains  faith  in 
God  and  man. 

Deep  snow  filled  the  entire  pass  and  Donald 
considered  it  unsafe  to  attempt  the  passage  with 
our  horses.  We  dismounted  and  led  our  trusty 
steeds  over  huge  rocks  and  shale  across  the 
shoulder  of  the  mountain  to  the  other  side  where 
we  struck  the  zig-zag  trail  for  the  steep  descent. 

Right  here  most  forcibly  was  it  brought  to 
our  minds  why  this  is  called  "The  Flower  Pass," 
for  by  a  sudden  turn,  as  the  trail  wound  back 
and  forth  in  serpentine  fashion  around  cliffs  and 
steep  ledges,  it  seemed  as  if  a  gate  had  been 


PIEGAN  PASS  109 

thrown  aside  and  a  lovely  garden  of  flowers  of 
spring  and  early  summer  was  revealed. 

Far  below  in  the  valley  at  the  foot  of  that 
huge  escarpment  and  bleak  precipice  that  forms 
the  majestic  and  yet  pitiless  beauty  of  the  Gar- 
den Wall  is  a  glorious  "Field  of  the  Cloth  of 
Gold."  A  long  vista  of  such  fields  is  spread  out 
as  by  enchantment — fields  of  various  hues:  pur- 
ple, green,  red,  yellow,  blue  or  white — fields  that 
look  like  green  velvet  embroidered  with  silver 
daisies  or  blue  forget-me-nots. 

One  cannot  well  picture  the  beauty  of  these 
flower-bedecked  slopes  and  mountain  meadows. 
Is  it  a  flower  pageant  or  a  dream-treat?  High 
upon  the  trail  we  saw  yellow  carpets  of  arnica 
flowers,  gaillardias  and  lilies,  followed  in  turn  by 
great  banks  of  flaming  Indian  paint  brush  and 
painted  cup,  and  vetches  in  shades  of  blue,  mauve, 
lilac,  purple,  violet  and  heliotrope,  hardly  to  be 
distinguished  from  the  gentians.  Wonderfully 
tinted  were  the  lower  levels  with  acres  of  daring 
colour  made  by  orange,  blue,  and  red  lady's-slip- 
pers,  in  contrast  to  the  delicate  tints  of  forget- 
me-nots,  columbines  and  harebells.  Pink  wild 
roses  and  branches  of  rhododendron,  heavy  with 
white  or  pink  flowers,  stretched  across  our  path. 
At  times  a  gentle  breeze  passed  over  all  and  the 


110    GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

flowers  yielded  their  fragrance  and  their  secrets 
as  flowers  do  to  all  of  us  who  love  them. 

Across  the  glen  came  the  thunder  of  rushing 
waters.  Our  trail  had  led  us  to  the  base  of 
Morning  Eagle  Falls.  This  mighty  water-fall 
drops  over  a  ledge  of  smooth,  dark,  green-blue 
rocks  that  marks  the  Continental  Divide.  Then 
hurrying  on,  the  water  dashes  over  the  rocky  bed 
of  a  mountain  brook  which  we  followed  for  a 
time  and  then  crossed  before  we  penetrated  the 
timber  skirting  the  foothills  of  the  Many  Glacier 
region. 

We  had  to  pick  our  way  slowly  along  this 
lovely,  narrow,  forest  trail  with  moss  and  mould 
under  foot,  and  repeated  in  a  measure  the  pleas- 
ures of  our  morning  ride  through  the  evergreens 
—only  the  shadows  were  longer  and  deeper  and 
our  spirits  not  quite  so  gay.  A  clearing  now 
and  then  gave  glimpses  of  white  mantled  moun- 
tain peaks,  and,  like  an  emerald,  Grinnell  Lake 
gleamed  through  the  trees. 

Finally  we  came  out  on  the  shores  of  Altyn 
Lake.  Set  in  a  strikingly  beautiful  mountain 
region,  it  seemed  like  a  silver  mirror  giving  an 
inverted  picture  of  pine  trees  growing  upside 
down,  banks  of  emerald  grass  and  grey-green 
rocks,  and  clouds  that  seemed  to  be  below  us. 


PIEGAN  PASS  111 

Now  again  for  a  mile  or  so  we  rode  through 
spruce  and  poplar  woods  across  the  point  which 
separated  far-famed  Lake  McDermott  from  Al- 
tyn  Lake,  and  at  last  in  the  late  afternoon  we 
sighted  the  broad  highway  that  leads  into  the 
picturesque  Many  Glacier  Camp,  where  the 
chalets  nestle  anywhere  from  the  shore  to  some 
distance  up  the  mountain  side. 

The  long  climb  to  our  chalet,  tired  as  we  were 
from  our  long  ride,  provoked  sympathy  one  from 
the  other,  but  we  felt  well  repaid  when,  at  the 
close  of  this  day,  we  sat  on  the  balcony  in  full 
view  of  McDermott  Falls,  and  the  lovely  lake 
cradled  in  the  deep  shades  of  Grinnell,  Gould 
and  Wilbur  mountains. 

Memory  will  long  cherish  the  picture  of  the 
dim  moon-lit  outlines  of  these  peaks,  the  still  dis- 
tances, the  star-shine  on  the  water,  and  the  silent 
moon  sailing  across  the  cloudless  sky  until  it  sank 
behind  the  snowy  sculptured  heights  of  the  Gar- 
den Wall. 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE  FLOWER  FIELDS  OF  GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARR 

RUSKIN  says,  "The  best  image  which  the 
world  can  give  of  Paradise  is  in  the  slope 
of  the  meadows,  on  the  sides  of  a  great  Alp,  with 
its  purple  rocks  and  eternal  snows  above ;  this  ex- 
cellence not  being  in  any  wise  referable  to  feel' 
ing  or  individual  preferences,  but  demonstrable 
by  calm  enumeration  of  the  number  of  lovely 
colours  on  the  rocks,  the  varied  grouping  of  the 
trees,  and  quantity  of  noble  incidents  in  stream, 
crag,  or  cloud,  presented  to  the  eye  at  any  given 
moment." 

The  great  shining  peaks  of  Glacier  National 
Park  are  guardians  of  an  enchanted  land  in 
which  the  vivid  colour  and  matchless  beauty  of 
Alpine  vegetation  challenge  every  traveller's  at- 
tention and  stamp  themselves  on  the  mind  as 
deeply  as  the  great  glaciers  clinging  to  the  tow- 
ering cliffs,  the  sapphire  lakes,  or  the  dark  ridges 
of  the  sombre,  fragrant  pines. 

It  is  a  mistake  to  feel  that  ours  must  be  the 
112 


THE  FLOWER  FIELDS         113 

knowledge  of  gardeners  or  botanists  in  order  to 
enjoy  these  wondrous  flower  fields.  The  delight 
of  standing  knee-deep  in  the  fragrance  of  count- 
less flowers  is  felt  more  deeply  by  the  flower-lover 
or  lover  of  floral  beauty  than  by  the  plant  special- 
ist. No  particular  knowledge  of  genera  and 
species  of  plant  life  is  needed  to  enjoy  the  beauty 
of  sunlit  mountain  meadow,  tossed  and  rolling 
like  a  rainbow  sea  of  purples,  blues,  mauves, 
pinks,  reds,  and  yellows,  with  endless  tints  and 
shades,  "where  gay  and  blithely  sporting  butter- 
flies seem  flowers  come  to  life." 

The  short  grass  jewelled  with  mountain  saxi- 
frage and  other  Alpine  flowers;  slopes  of  green 
fading  and  disappearing  as  under  an  azure  veil; 
entire  fields  of  wayward  harebells  shimmering 
and  rustling  like  a  silken  surface ;  fragrant  woods 
bordered  with  blue-purple  of  wild  hyacinths; 
acres  of  coarse  grass  all  aglow  with  buttercups; 
smiling  valleys  bestrewn  with  bells  whose  fra- 
grance fills  the  air;  a  trail  winding  through  a 
warm  carpet  of  heath  and  heather;  or  a  hill-side 
thickly  grown  with  wild  roses,  dropping  scented 
petals,  all  appeal  to  one  in  general  more  than  in 
particular. 

What  is  Alpine  flora?  In  a  word  it  denotes 
the  plants  that  grow  on  all  high  mountain  ranges. 


114    GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

Such  flora  ascends  from  the  cultivated  plain  to 
upper  mountain  meadow  and  margin  of  glacial 
fields  of  high  mountain  tops.  It  embraces  al- 
most every  species  of  vegetation  of  northern  and 
temperate  zones.  Some  Alpine  flower  life  lies 
dormant  under  the  deep  snow  shroud  of  three- 
fourths  of  the  year,  at  which  heights  there  is 
barely  time  for  the  plants  to  bloom  and  ripen 
before  they  are  again  buried  under  the  snow. 
Many  plants,  however,  that  grow  high  up  where 
the  snow-crowned  mountains  rule,  are  not  con- 
fined to  such  inaccessible  spots.  We  find  them 
also  in  lower  elevations  where  the  sun's  rays  have 
power  to  lay  bare  in  spring  the  vast  meadows 
of  rich  grass  set  with  countless  flowers  that  spring 
up  directly  as  the  snow  recedes. 

For  instance,  the  far-famed  flower  of  heaven- 
reflected  blue,  the  blue  gentian,  blooms  abun- 
dantly in  spring  in  the  lower  flower-fields,  while 
vast  regions  of  the  same  kind  are  embedded  deep 
by  the  cold  snow  on  the  slope  of  some  high  peak 
for  months  afterwards. 

Alpine  flora,  like  Arctic  vegetation,  must 
adapt  itself  to  the  shortened  seasons.  A  poet 
has  truly  said  of  the  fleeting  floral  affects  on 
Alpine  heights: 


THE  FLOWER  FIELDS         115 

"This  is  the  hour,  the  day, 
The  time,  the  season  sweet. 
Quick!  hasten,  laggard  feet, 
Brook  not  delay." 


With  breathless  speed  May's  glories  leave ;  the 
beauties  of  June  pass  all  too  quickly;  and  with 
blooms  of  July  it  is  equally  true.  Eagerly  Na- 
ture responds  when  Flora  touches  the  Alpine 
fields  with  her  fairy  wand;  for  by  the  side  of  an 
emerald  sea  of  verdure  set  with  islands  of  butter- 
cups, gentians,  or  marigolds,  are  deep  banks  of 
frozen  snow  under  which  some  flowers  are  still 
sleeping. 

Mountain  flora  is  remarkably  representative 
and  wonderfully  rich.  It  matters  not  where  we 
walk  or  where  we  look,  we  always  see  some  new 
and  lovely  combination  of  colours,  tints,  and 
shades. 

Glacier  National  Park  is  truly  a  vast  flower 
garden  in  which  flowers  of  wondrous  hues 
and  infinite  variety  carpet  the  earth  with  love- 
liness for  a  few  weeks  in  summer  wherever 
the  soil  is  bared  of  snow  by  the  sun. r  There 
are,  however,  certain  regions  that  are  espe- 
cially notable  for  the  luxuriance  and  diversi- 
ties of  form  and  colours  of  flowers  and  other 


116    GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

plant  life,  viz.,  the  open  fields  and  swelling  foot- 
hills around  Glacier  Park  Hotel ;  the  route  of  the 
Automobile  Highway;  the  lovely  Alpine  uplands 
of  Granite  Park;  the  high  mountain  meadows 
of  Piegan  Pass;  the  banks  of  Canyon  Creek 
between  Altyn  and  Allen  Mts. ;  the  green  ridges 
and  slopes  of  Cracker  Lake  and  Grinnell  Lake. 
Not  less  than  sixty  varieties  of  flowers  are 
native  to  the  Park,  while  numberless  genera  re- 
semble the  flowers  and  plants  of  the  Alps  and 
other  mountain  regions.  Fringing  the  vast,  cold 
fields  of  snow  and  ice  of  the  highest  mountains, 
or  peeping  from  crevices  of  high  rocky  places 
are  ferns,  fungi,  creeping  juniper,  anemones, 
dwarfed  chickweed,  speedwell,  mountain  saxi- 
frage, stonecrops,  and  Alpine  androsaces.  On 
lower  levels  the  snow,  in  retiring  to  the  heights, 
gives  place  to  a  carpet  of  soft  verdure  flecked 
with  heather,  heath,  violets,  larkspur,  veronicas, 
globeflower,  and  daisies.  In  upland  meadow 
are  clover  fields,  pink,  cream,  red,  or  white, 
forming  an  admirable  setting  for  many  of  the 
taller  flowers  like  yellow  lilies,  arnicas,  or  gail- 
lardia.  Down  deep  in  the  soft  grass  of  water 
meadows  are  scattered  in  endless  thousands  daf- 
fodils, crocuses,  anemones,  buttercups,  and  gen- 
tians; and  everywhere  in  the  verdant  valleys  are 


THE  FLOWER  FIELDS         117 

dense  bright  masses  of  painted  cup  and  paint 
brush,  vetches,  columbines,  harebells,  forget-me- 
nots,  wild  heliotrope  and  violets.  In  the  odor- 
ous woods,  where  the  sunlight  filters  through 
interlacing  branches,  the  lady's  slipper  and 
clematis  hold  us  with  their  colour. 

During  an  hour's  walk  in  almost  any  direction 
from  any  one  of  the  hotels  and  chalets,  one  may 
gather  armfuls  of  many  different  varieties  of 
flowers,  the  colour  of  which,  white,  blue,  red,  or 
yellow,  is  the  most  striking  feature  to  the  aver- 
age tourist.  Some  of  the  flowers  of  the  Park 
are  listed  according  to  this  attribute  as  follows: 

White: 

Alpine  androsace,  globeflower,  anemone, 
chickweed,  saxifrage,  bedstraw,  aster,  heath,  ox- 
eye  daisy,  violet,  heliotrope,  spirea,  queen's  cup, 
wild  parsley. 

Red  or  Pink: 

Heather,  paint  brush,  painted  cup,  rose,  col- 
umbine, twin-flower,  primrose. 

Blue  or  Purple: 

Larkspur,  violet,  vetches,  clematis,  aster,  wild 
flax,  false  forget-me-not,  speedwell,  harebell, 
moss  campion,  columbine,  fleabane,  gentian, 


118    GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

beard  tongue,  mountain  phacelia,  pasque  flower, 
butterwort. 

Yellow  or  Orange: 

Buttercup,  columbine,  lady's  slipper,  moun- 
tain lilies,  marigold,  violet,  arnica,  gaillardia, 
goldenrod. 

A  simple  grouping  of  the  most  conspicuous 
flowers  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  most  noted 
flower  regions  is  attempted  as  follows : 

Glacier  Park  Hotel: 

Violets,  forget-me-nots,  wild  flax,  gentians, 
vetches,  columbine,  arnica,  gaillardia,  mountain 
phacelia,  bedstraw,  chickweed,  goldenrod,  beard 
tongue,  asters,  clematis,  larkspur,  buttercups, 
marigolds,  anemones,  fleabane. 

Automobile  Highway: 

Practically  the  same  as  those  found  in  the 
above  list,  but  in  addition  the  tourist  will  see 
great  flaming  islands  of  Indian  paint  brush  and 
painted  cups. 

Two  Medicine  Camp: 

Marigolds,  anemones,  gentians,  windflower, 
queen's  cup,  gaillardia,  arnica,  androsace, 
vetches. 


'  ,  '  ' 

*          •'-- 


WILD   FLOWERS    NEAR  CUT   BANKS   CAMP 


THE  FLOWER  FIELDS          119 

Cut  Bank  Chalets: 

Forget-me-not,  anemone,  gentian,  arnica,  gail- 
lardia,  butterwort,  columbine,  androsace. 

Piegan  Uplands: 

Snow  lily,  butterwort,  harebell,  columbine, 
heatb,  heather,  forget-me-not,  rhododendron, 
clematis,  heliotrope,  beard  tongue,  vetches, 
spirea,  painted  cup,  Indian  paint  brush,  arnica. 

Granite  Park: 

Forget-me-not,  mountain  phacelia,  harebell, 
arnica,  larkspur,  gaillardia,  beard  tongue,  heath, 
heather,  vetches,  spirea,  snow  lily. 

St.  Mary's  Chalets: 

Windflower,  arnica,  columbine,  vetches,  small 
yellow  lady's  slipper. 

Cracker  and  Grinnett  Lakes: 

Clematis,  queen's  cup,  twin-flower,  saxifrage, 
beard  tongue,  globeflower,  rhododendron,  lady's 
slipper,  harebell,  forget-me-not. 

Canyon  Creek: 

Windflower,  northern  twin-flower,  gentians, 
globeflower,  lady's  slipper,  harebell,  columbine, 
larkspur,  wild  flax,  buttercups. 


120    GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

Iceberg  Lake  Trail: 

Harebell,  columbine,  spirea,  globeflower,  snow 
lily,  rhododendron. 

Red  Eagle  Lake: 

Forget-me-not,  larkspur,  gaillardia,  androsace, 
heath,  heather,  arnica. 

The  following  brief  descriptions  of  the  most 
noticeable  flowers  of  the  Park  give  merely  such 
facts  as  would  lead  to  a  simple  classification  by 
those  flower-lovers  who  are  interested  in  the 
flowers  because  of  their  charm  of  colour  and 
shape. 

False  Forget-me-not: 

On  the  sunny  slopes  and  open  places  near 
streams  and  watered  hollows,  grow  the  lovely, 
fragrant,  blue  forget-me-nots.  Most  tourists 
recognise  this  small  light  blue  five-lobed  flower 
with  its  yellow  centre,  growing  in  clusters  or 
heads  on  rough,  hairy  stems  from  two  to  four  feet 
high.  Few,  however,  realise  that  it  is  the  false 
and  not  the  true  forget-me-not  which  they  are 
admiring.  The  true  forget-me-not  is  a  rarer 
flower  and  grows  only  in  high  parts.  Not  only 
may  it  be  distinguished  from  the  false  forget-me- 
not  for  the  reason  that  it  grows  to  be  only  from 
four  to  six  inches  high,  but  its  fruit  is  a  smooth, 


THE  FLOWER  FIELDS         121 

round  seed  and  not  a  sticky  burr  like  that  of  the 
false  forget-me-not. 

Wild  Flax: 

In  stony  ground  in  open  dry  places  on  slopes 
to  the  north  and  east  of  the  Great  Northern  R.  R. 
tracks  one  may  find  fields  of  that  starry-eyed 
blossom,  the  wild  flax,  nodding  and  swaying  in 
the  breeze.  It  is  a  slender,  dainty  plant  from 
one  to  two  feet  tall,  carrying  bright  blue  five- 
petalled  flowers  at  the  end  and  on  small  stemlets 
all  along  the  main  stalk,  on  which  are  also 
crowded  the  oblong  or  linear  leaves. 

Wild  Clematis: 

In  the  shades  of  Piegan  Pines  and  along  the 
Mt.  Henry  trail  as  it  leads  through  the  wooded 
foot-hills  near  Glacier  Park  Hotel,  the  wild 
clematis  challenges  one's  attention  and  admira- 
tion. Sometimes  it  is  found  trailing  on  the 
ground,  but  more  frequently  the  slender  leaf 
stalks  cling  to  rocks,  bushes  and  trees  in  grace- 
ful festoons.  The  large,  lovely,  wide-spreading 
flowers,  having  four  or  five  purple-blue  sepals 
with  striking  centres  of  bright  yellow  stamens, 
are  so  profuse  that  they  frequently  hide  the  tri- 
foliate leaves. 


122    GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

Western  Anemone: 

In  early  June  a  conspicuous  feature  of  the 
meadow  about  Cut  Bank,  Two  Medicine,  and 
the  Blackfoot  Indian  Reservation,  is  the  western 
anemone,  blossoming  often  on  the  very  edges  of 
snow  banks  as  they  melt  away.  Even  an  un- 
practised eye  will  recognise  this  beautiful  white 
mountain  flower  which  resembles  a  buttercup  ex- 
cept in  colour.  The  blossom  is  often  two  inches 
broad  and  grows  at  the  end  of  a  stout  silky-hairy 
stem  from  six  to  eighteen  inches  tall.  The  leaves 
are  cleft  in  deeply  cut  linear  lobes.  The  flower 
has  no  petals  but  six  or  seven  white  sepals  that 
are  usually  shaded  blue  at  the  base.  The  fruit 
forms  a  very  artistic,  globular,  fluffy  head. 

The  most  abundant  anemone  in  the  Park  is  the 
"windflower,"  varying  in  colour  from  pink  or 
blue  to  pure  white.  The  hairy  stems  grow  from 
three  to  twelve  inches  tall  and  bear  root-leaves 
that  are  nearly  semi-circular  in  outline,  but 
deeply  lobed.  The  blossom  has  from  five  to  eight 
sepals. 

The  low  open  parts  of  St.  Mary's  and  the 
slopes  of  Canyon  Creek,  as  well  as  the  meadows 
of  Two  Medicine  Valley,  are  the  regions  where 
these  flowers  are  most  profusely  found  in  June. 


THE  FLOWER  FIELDS          123 

Queen's  Cup: 

In  the  shady  woods  of  Two  Medicine  Camp, 
Grinnell  Lake,  and  the  dark  forest  of  Going-to- 
the-Sun  grows  the  queen's  cup.  Among  glossy 
leaves  resembling  the  lily-of-the-valley,  are  set 
on  hairy  stems  the  lovely,  six-parted,  white 
flowers  with  golden  centres. 

Northern  Twin- flower: 

Fairly  carpeting  some  of  the  shady  banks  of 
Canyon  Creek  and  sequestered  spots  along  the 
shores  of  Cracker  Lake  may  be  seen  the  northern 
twin-flower.  This  is  a  trailing  plant  from  six  to 
twenty-four  inches  long  with  rather  thick  broad 
•glossy  leaves.  On  slender  erect  stalks  of  this 
vine,  forking  at  the  end,  hang  twin  blossoms  of 
pink  or  nearly  white  with  pink  inside.  The  blos- 
soms are  from  one-fourth  to  three-fourths  inches 
long  and  have  five  equal  lobes.  Wherever  these 
perfumed  bells  grow  they  fill  the  air  with  wild- 
flower  fragrance. 

Saxifrage: 

Among  the  wet  rocks  of  Trick  Falls  and  rock 
slopes  of  Cracker  Lake,  as  well  as  in  moist, 
shaded  parts  of  Swift  Current  Trail,  grow  varie- 
ties of  saxifrage,  much  sought  by  bees  and  flies. 
The  Alpine  saxifrage  has  a  hairy,  reddish  stem 


124    GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

from  two  to  six  inches  tall  with  many  ovate 
leaves  crowded  at  the  base.  The  small  white 
flowers  grow  in  a  compact  cluster  head  which 
latter  develop  into  pretty,  purple-red  seed-pods. 
The  tall  saxifrage  is  much  taller  than  most  of 
the  species.  From  a  cluster  of  hairy,  sharply- 
toothed  leaves,  crowded  on  a  short  root-stalk  from 
which  spring  tall  flower-stalks,  widely  branching 
and  terminating  in  a  head  of  many  small,  white 
flowers.  At  the  base  of  each  petal  there  is  a 
bright  orange  spot.  On  the  Cracker  Lake  slopes 
one  frequently  comes  upon  great  rocky  banks  en- 
tirely covered  by  these  lovely  little  blossoms. 

Mountain  Phacelia: 

Like  a  rich  purple-blue  carpet  are  the  great 
patches  of  colouring  made  by  the  mountain  pha- 
celia.  This  rough,  hairy  plant  grows  from  six 
to  eighteen  inches  high  and  is  leafy  to  the  top. 
The  lovely  deeply  cleft  leaves  have  a  soft  white 
down  covering.  Almost  like  a  plume  are  the 
long  spikes  in  which  are  crowded  the  bell-shaped 
flower  with  long  protruding  stamens.  In  June 
and  July  these  flowers  flood  with  colour  the 
regions  of  Glacier  Park  Hotel,  Granite  Park, 
and  the  route  of  the  Automobile  Highway. 


THE  FLOWER  FIELDS         125 

Gentians: 

Flowering  during  nearly  the  entire  season,  the 
gentian  family  makes  beautiful  the  banks  of 
Lower  Two  Medicine  Lake  and  River,  Cut  Bank 
River  and  Canyon  Creek.  Here  one  finds  very 
commonly  the  northern  gentian.  This  variety 
grows  on  leafy  stalks  six  to  twenty  inches  high, 
bearing  pink-purple  flowers  numerous  in  a  clus- 
ter in  the  axils  of  the  upper  leaves.  The  calyx 
is  deeply  five-lobed  and  the  tubular  corolla  is 
one-half  inch  long  and  five  parted.  The  basal 
leaves  are  rounded  at  the  top  and  narrow  at  the 
base,  while  the  upper  leaves  are  sessile,  narrow, 
and  tapering  at  the  top. 

On  the  Swift  Current  Trail  may  be  found  the 
four-parted  gentian,  differing  mainly  from  the 
northern  gentian  because  of  its  larger  and  bluer 
flowers  which  are  four-parted  but  seldom  open. 
Here,  also,  in  great  abundance  is  found  the  showy 
large  gentian  with  its  sky-blue  blossoms  growing 
in  dense  clusters  among  the  leaves  on  the  top  of 
the  stems.  The  funnel-shaped  corolla  is  of  a 
grey-blue  color,  spotted  underneath  with  white. 
This  variety  blooms  during  August. 

Harebell: 

On  the  wind-swept  meadows  of  Piegan  Mt. 
and  Granite  Park  and  in  the  crevices  of  cliffs 


126    GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

in  the  Iceberg  Lake  region,  the  dainty  bell- 
shaped,  bright-blue  harebell  flowers  throughout 
the  summer.  The  name  "bluebell"  is  wrongly 
applied  by  most  tourists  to  these  hardy  blossoms. 
On  the  hair-like  stems  grow  several  drooping 
bell-like  flowers  on  slender  pedicels.  The  basal 
leaves  are  linear  and  sessile. 

Arnica: 

Skirting  the  woods  and  thicket  all  along  the 
highway  to  St.  Mary's,  painting  the  open  slopes 
of  Cut  Bank  road,  and  flaunting  their  brilliant 
colour  on  the  level  of  Granite  Park  are  the  arnica 
flowers,  represented  by  several  varieties,  but  most 
commonly  by  one  very  handsome  species  called 
the  "heartleaf"  arnica.  Its  hairy  leaves  are 
deeply  cordate  at  the  base.  At  the  end  of  long 
slender  stalks,  either  singly  or  in  pairs,  grow 
golden-hued  flowers  having  from  twelve  to  six- 
teen rays  an  inch  or  more  long  toothed  at  the 
apex.  Like  the  gaillardia,  the  deep  yellow  cen- 
tres are  formed  of  many  small  flowers. 

On  the  Swift  Current  Trail  are  places  where 
the  Alpine  arnica  grows.  In  this  variety  several 
flowers  grow  on  long  slender  stems,  bearing  ob- 
long toothed  leaves  that  grow  in  pairs. 


THE  FLOWER  FIELDS         127 

Larkspur: 

In  June  and  July  the  Alpine  meadows  of 
Granite  Park,  the  open  woods  and  sloping  fields 
along  the  Automobile  Highway,  the  verdant  floor 
of  Red  Eagle  Valley,  are  crowded  with  countless 
numbers  of  the  tall  handsome  larkspur.  The 
dull  purple,  dark  blue,  or  brilliant  blue  flowers 
grow  in  long  spike-shaped  flower-heads  formed 
of  many  nodding  blossoms.  The  stalk  which 
bears  the  flowers  on  short  pedicels  is  crowded 
below  with  numerous  deeply  cleft  dark  green 
leaves.  The  flowers  which  are  not  quite  an  inch 
long  have  five  sepals,  the  upper  one  of  which  is 
prolonged  into  a  spur.  The  petals,  which  are  ex- 
serted,  are  white  with  purple  veins. 

Gaillardia: 

In  July  meadows  and  slopes  nearly  every- 
where in  the  Park  are  glorified  by  the  showy, 
radiant  blossoms  of  the  gaillardia.  Its  golden, 
wedge-shaped,  deeply  three-lobed  rays  often 
numbering  eighteen  spread  from  a  reddish  pur- 
ple disk  composed  of  minute  flowers.  The  leaves 
are  from  two  to  five  inches  long,  coarse  and 
deeply  toothed  halfway  between  the  apex  and 
stem. 


128    GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

Wild  Heliotrope: 

That  lovely  flowering  meadow  on  the  north- 
ern shore  of  Grinnell  Lake,  as  well  as  sunny 
slopes  on  Piegan  Uplands,  give  fragrant  odours 
to  the  winds  to  tell  one  of  the  presence  of  the 
wild  heliotrope.  This  plant  with  its  showy, 
glossy,  bright  green  leaves  often  grows  to  the 
height  of  eighteen  inches.  The  rather  soft  thick 
stalk  bears  a  lovely  flower  cluster  of  many  small 
fragrant  white  blossoms  usually  tinged  with  pink 
or  pale  violet.  The  long  protruding  stamens 
give  the  showy  flower  heads  a  soft  fluffy  appear- 
ance: 

Butterwort: 

Many  tourists  mistake  the  butterwort  for  a 
purple-blue  violet.  The  lovely  blossoms  grow 
singly  on  a  stem  above  a  rosette  of  from  five  to 
seven  light  green  leaves  that  are  entire  and  ovate 
in  shape.  Above  the  perfectly  developed  five- 
lobed  calyx  is  the  corolla  of  a  deep  purple-blue 
colour.  The  most  noticeable  feature  of  the  flower 
is  the  long  spur  into  which  the  corolla  terminates. 

The  butterwort  prefers  low  moist  places  for  its 
haunts,  such  as  the  watery  hollows  along  the  Cut 
Bank  road;  but  it  also  grows  profusely  along 
Piegan  trail  near  Morning  Eagle  Falls. 


THE  FLOWER  FIELDS         129 

Fleabane: 

A  flower  that  is  commonly  spoken  of  as  the 
"aster"  is  the  fleabane.  It  blooms  in  July  and 
not  during  the  late  summer  and  autumn  as  the 
asters  do.  It  is  easily  distinguishable  from  the 
asters,  too,  because  of  the  great  number  of  rays 
that  surround  the  disc-flower.  There  are  often 
as  many  as  seventy  rays  crowded  together  in  the 
cup  or  involucre  of  bracts;  while  those  of  the 
aster  usually  form  but  a  single  series  and  number 
about  one- third  as  many. 

The  blue  or  purple  flowers  of  the  fleabane  grow 
on  hairy  stems  on  which  cling  thick  smooth 
leaves.  The  central  disc-flowers  around  which  the 
long  narrow  rays  extend  are  yellow  in  colour. 
The  slopes  and  meadows  near  Glacier  Park 
Hotel  are  coloured  gaily  with  these  handsome 
flowers. 

Field  Chickweed: 

One  of  the  daintiest  of  white  flowers  in  these 
mountain  wilds  is  the  field  chickweed.  There 
are  vast  fields  of  this  pretty  blossom  to  be  found 
on  any  sunny  bank  near  the  Glacier  Park  station. 
This  small  attractive  flower,  which  is  about  one- 
half  an  inch  broad,  has  five  deeply  notched  petals 
and  grows  in  a  rather  loose  head  on  a  tufted  and 


130    GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

hairy  stem  from  three  to  six  inches  high.    The 
leaves  are  small,  narrow,  and  pointed. 

Beard  Tongue: 

In  stony  exposed  places  near  Piegan  Trail, 
Swift  Current  Trail,  Granite  Park,  and  Cracker 
Lake,  in  June,  may  be  seen  great  mats  of  pink- 
ish purple  or  blue  colouring.  Here  the  beard 
tongue  has  diffused  its  blossoms  in  terminal 
heads  on  short  shoots  from  the  main  stalk,  which 
grows  flat  upon  the  ground.  The  tubular  corolla 
has  two  lips,  of  which  the  lower  one  is  conspicu- 
ously bearded  within.  The  leaves,  which  are  lin- 
ear in  shape,  grow  all  along  the  stem. 

Columbine: 

The  graceful  columbine  makes  gay  the  borders 
of  brooks  and  streams  where  come  the  bees  and 
butterflies  to  sip  the  honey  from  the  red  and  gold- 
en bells.  The  drooping  scarlet  flowers  have  pet- 
als shaped  like  inverted  cornucopias  lined  with 
yellows.  These  grow  alternately  with  four  red 
petals.  Many  golden  tassels  hang  from  each 
flower.  The  upper  leaves  of  the  columbine  are 
mere  bracts  that  grow  on  tall  stems,  while  large 
and  fernlike  leaves  grow  on  the  flower  stalk  at 
the  base  of  the  plant.  According  to  altitude  and 
season  the  colour  of  the  columbine  changes.  The 


THE  FLOWER  FIELDS         131 

yellow  columbine  is  the  most  common  through- 
out the  Park  and  may  be  seen  along  any  of  the 
mountain  trails.  The  small  blue  columbine  is 
found  in  open  rocky  places  in  the  St.  Mary's 
region. 

Androsace: 

A  flower  that  may  be  found  at  all  altitudes 
from  June  to  mid-summer,  in  open  places  with 
either  dry  or  moist  soil,  is  the  sweet  flowered 
androsace.  The  blossoms  are  only  a  fourth  of 
an  inch  in  diameter  and  of  a  rich  cream  colour 
with  a  brilliant  yellow  centre.  From  four  to  ten 
are  in  a  flower-head  at  the  end  of  a  slender  stalk 
that  is  only  a  few  inches  high.  The  oval  leaves 
are  folded  over  the  other  and  grow  in  tufts  at 
the  foot  of  the  flower  stalks.  On  Cut  Bank  Trail, 
at  Granite  Park,  Two  Medicine  Valley,  and  Red 
Eagle  Meadows  these  attractive  little  flowers  fill 
the  air  with  their  fragrance. 

Heath: 

The  heath  family  is  represented  in  the  Park 
by  the  white  heath  and  several  varieties  of 
heather.  In  the  neighbourhood  of  Piegan  Pass 
and  in  Red  Eagle  Valley  in  considerable  clumps 
one  may  find  the  white  heath.  It  grows  to  the 
height  of  about  a  foot  and  has  stout,  woody,  and 


132    GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

many  branched  stems  which  appear  four-sided 
because  of  the  way  in  which  the  prickly  leaves 
grow.  Pure,  white,  waxen  flowers  hang  in  bell 
fashion  from  short  slender  pedicels.  Each  flower 
has  five  deeply  cut  spreading  lobes. 

Heather: 

Frequently  associated  with  the  heath  and  flow- 
ering at  the  same  time,  June  and  July,  is  the 
white  false  heather.  The  linear  leaves  of  this  spe- 
cies are  much  longer  and  spreading  than  those 
of  the  white  heath.  The  flowers  look  like  little 
waxen  beads  growing  on  short  pedicels  at  the 
ends  of  the  branches. 

Near  the  woods  of  Red  Eagle  Valley  and  at 
Granite  Park  whole  acres  are  covered  with  red 
false  heather,  which  is  really  a  low  branching 
flowering  shrub.  It  grows,  much  branched  from 
the  base,  from  six  to  twelve  inches  high.  The 
linear  leaves  are  often  one-half  inch  long  with 
thick  rough  margins.  The  lovely  little  fragrant 
rose-coloured  flowers  with  broad-spreading  lobes 
hang  nodding  on  small  pedicels  at  the  ends  of 
the  stems. 

Vetches: 

The  vetches  may  be  found  throughout  the  Park 
during  most  of  the  season.  Great  similarity  is 


THE  FLOWER  FIELDS         133 

noticeable  in  the  different  varieties,  in  that  they 
are  herbs  or  vines  with  an  abundance  of  alternate 
compound  leaves  carrying  from  fifteen  to  twenty- 
five  leaflets  on  the  main  stem.  All  the  varieties 
have  flowers  growing  in  dense  spikes.  Like 
others  of  the  pea  family  each  individual  flower 
is  formed  of  five  irregular  petals,  the  keel  being 
formed  of  the  two  lower  ones  united;  the  wings 
of  the  two  side  ones;  and  the  standard  turned 
backward,  being  formed  of  the  upper  one.  In 
colouring  the  vetches  are  yellow,  blue,  purple, 
or  white.  The  ascending  vetch,  which  is  the  most 
frequently  seen,  and  the  purple  vetch  (differing 
only  in  leaves)  make  great  purple  spots  in  the 
green  about  Glacier  Park  Hotel,  Two  Medicine 
Valley,  and  along  the  Automobile  Highway. 

In  rather  shaded  places  along  the  Cut  Bank 
road  and  St.  Mary's  region,  and  again  at  much 
higher  altitudes  near  Morning  Eagle  Falls,  grow 
the  daintiest  of  vetches  of  a  pale-blue  colour, 
called  the  Alpine  milk  vetches. 

Spirea: 

Most  noticeable  in  the  bright  sunlight  on  Gun- 
sight  Trail,  Swift  Current  and  Iceberg  Lake 
Trails  is  the  flower  of  a  small  shrub  called  the 
spirea.  The  fragrant  blossom,  which  is  white  and 


134    GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

tinged  with  pink,  grows  in  large  fluffy  flower 
heads.  The  red  woody  stems  bear  smooth  oval- 
shaped  leaves  which  are  dark  green  above  and 
paler  beneath. 

Globe  flower: 

In  May  and  early  June  the  globeflower  is 
very  conspicuous  along  the  banks  of  Canyon 
Creek,  and  the  shores  of  Grinnell  and  Cracker 
Lakes.  Scarcely  before  the  snow  has  melted 
one  may  find  huge  beds  of  this  handsome  white 
flower.  It  is  sometimes  mistaken  for  the 
anemone  but  it  differs  greatly  in  the  size  of  the 
flowers,  which  are  one  and  one-half  inches  in 
diameter  and  are  subtended  by  a  circle  of  leaves, 
and  grow  solitary  on  a  stalk  from  six  to  twelve 
inches  high.  A  conspicuous  feature  of  the  flower 
is  the  bright  golden  centre  formed  of  many 
small  petals  and  stamens.  The  glossy  leaves 
are  many  cleft. 

Snow  Lily: 

Throughout  the  summer  at  different  elevations 
one  may  find  the  beautiful  yellow  flower  called 
the  snow  lily.  Its  name  is  very  likely  derived 
from  the  fact  that  it  blossoms  so  closely  to  the 
melting  snow.  On  the  mountain  sides  near  Ice- 
berg Lake,  Piegan  Mountain,  and  Granite  Park 


THE  FLOWER  FIELDS         135 

these  short-lived  flowers  blossom  in  great  pro- 
fusion. On  stems  nearly  a  foot  tall  grow  droop- 
ing yellow  flowers  having  long  tapering  sepals 
and  petals  exposing  stamens  with  brown 
anthers.  The  dull  green  leaves,  which  are  from 
six  to  eight  inches  long,  grow  two  or  three  in  a 
whorl. 

Rhododendron : 

Again  and  again  as  you  ride  the  skyland  trail 
of  Gunsight,  Iceberg  Lake,  Grinnell  Lake  and 
Swift  Current  one  will  see  high  on  the  ledges  and 
hillsides  one  of  the  most  beautiful  shrubs  of  the 
Park — the  white  rhododendron.  It  frequently 
grows  to  the  height  of  five  feet  and  bears  thin 
leaves  that  are  glossy  green  above  and  paler  be- 
low. They  are  about  two  inches  long  with  wavy 
margins.  The  pure  white  flowers,  which  grow  in 
a  cluster,  are  nearly  an  inch  broad,  spreading  with 
five  lobes.  The  pretty  yellow  centres  are  formed 
of  ten  pale-yellow  stamens  and  the  style. 

Lady's  Slipper: 

In  the  primeval  forest  of  Going-to-the-Sun 
where  the  sunbeams  play  hide  and  seek,  and  in 
the  woods  where  floats  on  the  air  the  spicy 
fragrance  of  Piegan  Pines,  grows  the  large  yel- 
low lady's  slipper.  Even  the  most  unobserving 


136    GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

tourist  will  see  and  recognise  this  lovely  flower 
with  its  inflated  golden  sac  flanked  by  long 
twisted  sepals  and  petals  of  greenish  colour. 
The  leaves  grow  alternately  on  the  stem  and  are 
elliptical,  veiny,  and  yellowish  green  in  colour. 
On  some  of  the  barren  lateral  moraines  of 
Canyon  Creek  and  Grinnell  Lake  one  may 
also  rejoice  in  the  sight  of  these  beautiful 
flowers. 

In  the  deep  moist  woods  of  St.  Mary's,  Trick 
Falls,  and  Many  Glacier  region  during  July  one 
does  not  uncommonly  find  the  small  yellow  lady's 
slipper,  which  resembles  the  species  just  de- 
scribed, yet  differs  in  size  and  deeper  colouring. 
The  small  inflated  sacs  are  nearly  orange  in 
colour,  and  blotched  with  purplish  lines  and 
spots. 

Indian  Pcdnt  Brush: 

Whole  mountain  slopes  are  clothed  in  brilliant 
flame  colour  when  the  Indian  paint  brush  is  in 
bloom.  There  is  not  a  section  of  the  Park  where 
this  showy  flower  may  not  be  found.  One  is 
reminded  of  the  salvia  and  geraniums  of  our 
cultivated  gardens  when  one  comes  upon  a  huge 
bed  of  this  fiery  blossom,  which  frequently  is 
coloured  pink,  coral,  tangerine,  or  canary.  The 


THE  FLOWER  FIELDS         137 

flower  grows  in  dense  spikes  at  the  end  of  the 
stalk  from  six  inches  to  two  feet  tall.  The  corolla 
is  quite  colourless,  but  the  brilliant  hues  of  the 
blossom  come  from  the  enveloping  bracts  which 
vary  in  shades  of  rich  colour.  From  the  cleft 
tube  of  the  corolla  extends  the  long  pistil.  The 
leaves  are  alternate  and  sessile  with  wavy  mar- 
gins. 

Painted  Cups: 

Resembling  and  rivalling  the  Indian  paint 
brush  are  the  painted  cups.  The  leaves  of  this 
plant  are  the  chief  difference  between  the  two. 
In  the  latter  the  margins  are  entire.  In  June 
and  July  the  painted  cups  virtually  paint  the 
meadows  throughout  the  Park  scarlet  or  ma- 
genta hues. 

Like  the  Indian  paint  brush,  the  colour  of  the 
"flower"  is  due  to  the  brilliant  bracts  that  prac- 
tically cover  the  corolla.  The  flower  stalk  bears 
numerous  leaves  and  grows  on  long  creeping 
root-stalks. 

The  endless  variety  of  floral  growth  in  the 
Park  includes  violets,  wild  strawberries,  mosses, 
ferns,  sweet  grass,  bear-grass,  berry  bearing 
shrubs,  thorn  apple,  poplars,  and  dwarf  maples, 


138    GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

all  easily  recognised  by  every  traveller ;  and  there 
are  yet  many  more  lovely  flowers  that  are  un- 
familiar to  even  the  botanist  and  have  not  yet 
been  classified. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

SOME  MOUNTAIN  LAKES 

OF  all  the  attractive  and  wonderful  features 
of  Glacier  National  Park  probably  no 
other  possesses  such  charm,  such  unsurpassed 
beauty,  and  such  eloquence  of  grandeur  as  its 
mountain  lakes.  High  up  amid  the  stupendous 
rock  fortresses  lie  these  shining  jewels  of  Nature. 
The  basins  of  these  lakes  were  formed  ages 
ago  by  glacial  action.  The  ice  monsters,  creeping 
slowly  down  the  valleys,  gouged  deeply  into  the 
rocks,  leaving  many  fantastic  mountain  shapes, 
and  making  depressions,  into  which  the  melting 
ice  slipped  and  formed  beautiful  lakes,  giving 
forth  from  their  clear  surfaces  faithful  portrayal 
of  mountain,  cloud  and  tree.  In  these  shining 
mirrors  may  be  seen  the  dark  green  of  the  en- 
circling pines,  the  varied  colours  of  towering 
mountain  walls  ending  in  ragged  peaks  or  castel- 
lated ridges,  and  the  deep  blue  of  the  far  away 
vault  of  the  heavens,  across  which  fleecy  clouds 
roll  and  melt  away. 

139 


140    GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

These  lakes  vary  in  shape,  size  and  colour. 
Influenced  by  the  Continental  Divide,  they  gen- 
erally extend  in  direction  from  northeast  to 
southwest  or  the  reverse.  In  shape  the  larger 
ones  are  long  and  narrow,  while  the  smaller  ones 
are  oval  or  irregular.  They  differ  in  size  from 
those  ten  to  twelve  miles  in  length  and  from 
a  half  to  a  mile  in  width,  to  others  as  very  small 
pools.  From  different  viewpoints  and  under  dif- 
ferent lights  the  waters  appear  emerald,  black, 
violet,  sapphire,  indigo-blue,  sea-green,  and  a 
burnished  copper. 

Their  settings  are  truly  ideal.  The  shores  of 
this  one  are  fringed  with  majestic  pines  shoot- 
ing upward  a  hundred  feet  and  more ;  from  those 
of  another  rise  precipitous  mountain-walls  two 
or  three  thousand  feet  heavenward;  and  in  front 
of  the  waters  of  others  are  spread  miniature 
parks,  rich  with  the  bloom  and  fragrance  of  gen- 
tians, paint  brush,  larkspur  and  other  mountain 
flowers. 

Prosaic  and  ill-humoured  is  he  who  can  look 
upon  a  mountain  lake  and  not  yield  to  the  witch- 
ery, poetry  and  fascination  of  its  beauty.  Cold 
and  impassive  are  the  stately  silent  mountains, 
treacherous  and  forbidding  are  the  white-sheeted 
glaciers,  dark  and  gloomy  are  the  sighing  pines 


of  the  forest,  but  these  beautiful  smiling  lakes 
flash  forth  a  dazzling  brightness  from  out  their 
sombre  and  wild  environment,  giving  cheer  and 
courage  to  the  beholder. 

Beautiful  as  the  Italian  Lakes  may  be,  lovely 
as  are  the  Swiss  Lakes  surrounded  by  the  snow- 
clad  Alps,  picturesque  and  charming  as  Loch 
Katrine  and  Loch  Lomond  of  Scotland,  and 
delectable  as  are  the  English  Lakes,  our  own 
America  has  lakes  reposing  in  the  glorious  Rocky 
Mountains  which  can  not  be  surpassed  in  beauty 
and  grandeur,  and  whose  scenic  surroundings 
are  bound  to  be  appreciated  more  and  more  as 
tourists  penetrate  into  the  rugged  regions  of  this 
great  wonder  park.  Many  tourists  who  have 
gazed  with  wonder  and  admiration  upon  the  lakes 
of  foreign  countries  do  not  even  know  of  the 
existence  of  these  marvellous  shining  waters  in 
their  own  mountains. 

In  this  wonderful  tumbled  region  lie  more 
than  two  hundred  and  fifty  lakes.  Of  these 
there  stand  out  prominently  those  which,  seen  in 
the  full  flush  of  their  beauty,  will  remain  in  the 
mind's  eye  as  lasting  pictures. 

Beautiful  Two  Medicine  Lake  was  the  first 
to  greet  our  eyes.  Descending  the  steep  trail 
leading  from  Mt.  Henry  toward  the  inviting 


142    GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

chalets  we  halted  at  Donald's  call  and  tried  to 
grasp  the  glories  of  this  exquisite  mountain  lake 
lying  far  below  us,  and  stretching  out  like  a  sil- 
ver ribbon  to  its  three-mile  length. 

The  next  morning  in  a  row-boat  we  crossed 
this  beautiful  shining  water  and  anchored  under 
the  shadow  of  some  overhanging  trees  close  to 
the  lake's  edge.  More  and  more  did  the  setting 
of  this  mountain-hemmed  lake  impress  us  as  we 
observed  the  massive  rock  walls  of  Rising  Wolf 
looming  up  precipitously  from  its  north  shore, 
Appistoki  on  its  south  shore,  and  at  its  head 
Mt.  Rockwell  resembling  a  pyramid  and  seem- 
ing almost  to  overhang  the  water. 

Lovely  as  this  picturesque  lake  appears  in  the 
full  light  of  day  it  becomes  even  more  wonder- 
ful in  its  beauty,  as  the  surrounding  peaks,  re- 
taining the  last  crimson  blush  of  day,  are  re- 
flected from  the  quiet  depths  of  a  sleeping  water. 

Farther  north,  resting  in  a  valley  celebrated 
for  mountain  grandeur,  lies  one  of  the  most  beau^ 
tiful  sheets  of  water  in  the  world.  Framed  by 
snow-encrusted  mountains,  this  striking  picture 
flashes  forth  its  sparkling  waters  from  a  crescent- 
shaped  hollow,  measuring  ten  miles  in  length  and 
one  in  width.  For  sheer  beauty  of  surroundings 


ST.    MARY  S    LAKE 


CAMP    AT    ST.    MARY  S    LAKE 


SOME  MOUNTAIN  LAKES      143 

this  mountain  lake,  named  Upper  St.  Mary's, 
can  be  spoken  of  only  in  superlative  terms. 

Interwoven  with  its  superb  setting  and  the 
beauty  of  its  bright  smiling  face,  is  the  suggested 
atmosphere  breathing  forth  the  spirit  and  super- 
stition of  the  Blackfeet,  who  long  ago  roamed 
along  its  shores  and  paid  reverence  to  the  Under- 
water People,  the  Makers  of  Storms,  who,  ac- 
cording to  Indian  tradition,  dwelt  in  its  limitless 
depths. 

On  a  clear  day  when  the  sun's  rays  have  dis- 
pelled every  veil  of  mist  clinging  to  the  sur- 
rounding mountain  heads,  the  surface  of  the  lake 
receives  the  brilliancy  radiated  from  these  shafts 
of  light,  and  appears  a  shining  mass  of  ripples. 

Late  in  the  afternoon  after  a  strenuous  six- 
teen-mile ride  in  the  saddle,  we  ambled  into  the 
camp  of  St.  Mary's  and  rejoiced  when  we  were 
quartered  alone  in  a  cosy  chalet  on  a  high  point 
in  full  view  of  the  lake. 

Sitting  before  the  cheery  fire  throwing  out 
heat  and  comfort  and  talking  over  the  incidents 
of  the  ride,  we  became  sensible  of  a  lurid  light 
filling  the  room.  Looking  out  we  found  we 
were  to  witness  a  storm  on  a  mountain  lake,  a 
thing  to  be  remembered  a  lifetime. 

The  sky  was  overcast  with  dark  and  angry 


144    GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

clouds  in  rapid  motion.  From  these  at  intervals 
emitted  flashes  of  forked  lightning,  followed  by 
volleys  of  deep  thunder  which  rolled  and  re- 
verberated as  it  carried  from  mountain  to  moun- 
tain and  echoed  and  re-echoed  from  peak  to  peak. 
The  wind  lent  its  force,  bringing  a  sheet  of  rain 
down  the  mountain  sides  toward  the  water.  It 
is  almost  unbelievable  to  what  a  fury  a  lake  can 
lash  itself  when  exposed  to  the  wild  elements  of 
Nature.  The  water  seemed  to  rise  with  a  con- 
vulsive movement  to  meet  the  wind  and  rain 
sweeping  down  the  length  of  the  lake.  The 
white  hissing  waters  tumbled  in  fury  as  one  tre- 
mendous wave  followed  another.  Masses  of 
water  lifted  up  and  rushed  on  to  be  followed  in 
turn  by  oncoming  waves  on  whose  tops  great 
white  caps  spilled  over  and  dashed  in  spray. 
Rain  fell  in  torrents  interspersed  with  vivid 
flashes  and  almost  constant  roaring  thunder. 

It  was  a  spectacle  of  power  which  we  watched 
with  mingled  awe  and  admiration.  How  soon 
it  was  over!  Rain  clouds  cleared  and  the  sun 
broke  through.  But  the  troubled  waters  whose 
depths  had  been  so  violently  disturbed  continued 
for  hours  their  restless  and  angry  movements. 
Even  then  we  heeded  the  warning  not  to  at- 


SOME  MOUNTAIN  LAKES      145 

tempt  a  boat-ride  in  the  little  skiff  riding  at 
anchor  near  the  dock. 

In  the  long  twilight  after  the  wind  had  died 
away  some  quieting  power  touched  the  water  with 
a  magic  wand  and  it  became  as  glass.  Gradually 
there  became  visible  in  its  clear  depths  a  wonder- 
ful inverted  reproduction  of  the  encompassing 
mountains,  some  topped  with  varied  tints  of 
colour,  others  pure  and  white  with  the  eternal 
snow. 

For  pure  enjoyment  we  could  have  lingered 
indefinitely  at  St.  Mary's,  but  the  next  morn- 
ing we  embarked  on  the  beautifully  appointed 
steam  launch,  The  St.  Mary,  with  "The  Sun" 
as  our  objective  point.  Heading  out  into  the 
lake  what  a  glorious  sight  lay  before  us!  On 
either  side  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach  stretched 
a  line  of  noble  mountains.  Rising  precipitously 
from  the  north  shore  were  Singleshot  Mountain 
with  its  coloured  bands,  Whitefish  Mountain, 
Goat  Mountain,  and  the  imposing  Going-to-the- 
Sun  Mountain.  On  the  south  shore  lay  Red 
Eagle,  Little  Chief,  Citadel,  Almost-a-Dog,  the 
obelisk-shaped  Fusillade,  and  way  in  the  distance 
Reynolds  and  Clements. 

The  Many  Glacier  region,  north  of  St.  Mary's 
Valley,  abounds  in  mountain  lakes.  This  is  the 


146    GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

lake  centre  of  the  Park.  Though  small,  these 
bodies  of  water  are  famed  for  beauty  lying  amid 
such  impressive  mountain  scenery.  The  glories 
and  fascination  of  these  jewels  of  nature  are  an 
inspiration  and  linger  long  in  the  memory. 

Perhaps  in  no  other  portion  of  the  Park  can 
the  nature-lover  see  so  varied  a  display  of  wild- 
ness  and  marvellous  beauty  so  charmingly 
brought  to  view  as  when  approaching  this  region 
over  a  trail  leading  to  the  camp. 

McDermott  and  Iceberg  lakes  stand  out 
luminously  in  memory  against  a  background  of 
mountains,  glaciers,  canyons  and  wooded  valleys. 

Following  Piegan  Trail,  every  step  of  which 
revealed  features  taxing  our  vocabularies  to  find 
epithets  fitting  such  unimaginable  grandeur,  we 
approached  Lake  McDermott  through  a  beauti- 
ful timber  in  a  series  of  ups  and  downs.  Glimpses 
now  and  then  of  the  blue  or  green  of  Grinnell 
and  Altyn  lakes  were  caught  through  the  trees, 
but  our  rapture  knew  no  bounds  when  lovely 
McDermott  burst  into  full  view  and  smiled  at 
us  in  the  bright  light  of  a  glorious  sunshine. 

Nestling  in  a  depression  among  a  company 
of  kingly  mountains,  proudly  bearing  aloft  their 
gorgeous  colours  and  gleaming  marble  of  snows, 
it  is  fed  by  waters  from  near-by  glaciers  indicated 


SOME  MOUNTAIN  LAKES      147 

by  long  milky-white  streams  reaching  far  out 
into  its  blue  waters.  From  the  balcony  of  our 
chalet,  perched  high  on  a  hillside,  this  quiet  green- 
edged  lake  appeared  overshadowed  by  the  pyram- 
idal peak  of  Grinnell  Mountain  to  the  south- 
west, whose  lower  slopes  toward  the  lake  are 
forested  with  a  green  mantle;  awe-inspiring 
Gould  Mountain,  lying  farther  away  in  the  same 
direction,  and  raising  its  white  gable  high  above 
the  water;  Mt.  Wilbur  with  its  cloud-muffled 
head  looming  up  at  the  west,  and  Altyn  Peak 
rising  from  the  north  shore. 

Our  most  satisfactory  impression  of  McDer- 
mott  was  in  the  long  evening  when  the  sunset 
painted  the  mountain  tips  with  a  copper  glow, 
and  the  slopes  with  lilac  shades.  Then  the  lake's 
serene  bosom  mirrored  an  exact  duplicate  of 
mountains,  drifting  clouds,  and  pale  moon. 
Looking  long  upon  the  silent  peaceful  picture 
until  engraved  upon  the  inner  eye,  we,  too, 
quietly  sought  rest  filled  with  a  strange,  sweet 
calm. 

Strikingly  different  from  every  other  is  Ice- 
berg Lake  which  is  the  only  one  of  its  kind  on  the 
continent.  This  phenomenal  lake  lies  on  the 
north  side  of  Wilbur  Mountain  in  a  cirque  6110 
feet  above  sea  level  and  is  surrounded  on  three 


148    GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

sides  by  ragged  vertical  walls  3000  feet  high. 
The  Garden  Wall  forms  a  portion  of  this  rock- 
frame. 

The  solitude  of  this  almost  isolated  spot  is 
broken  at  intervals  by  great  splashes  of  ice- 
masses  which  have  lost  their  balance  and  fallen 
into  the  water  below,  as  their  mother,  the  last 
remnant  of  an  old  glacier  which  dug  the  basin, 
creeps  too  far  over  her  support.  In  this  little 
sapphire  gem  of  water,  a  half  mile  in  diameter, 
float  many  crystal  miniature  bergs  scintillating 
with  rainbow  hues  under  the  sunlight,  or,  under 
a  shadow,  riding  majestically  like  great  white 
swans  on  its  blue  surface. 

The  open  side  of  the  lake  is  bordered  with 
stones  and  rocks  forced  up  by  the  water  and 
lying  in  disordered  heaps.  Back  of  these  rocks 
is  spread  a  grassy  meadow  carpeted  with  a  pro- 
fusion of  wild  flowers. 

Sitting  for  a  long  time  on  some  rocks  project- 
ing over  the  water,  we  looked  long  at  the  won- 
derful and  fascinating  picture — the  towering 
coloured  cliffs,  the  innumerable  streams  hurrying 
down  their  walls,  the  glacier  steadily  grinding 
away,  the  azure  water,  the  white  ships  riding  at 
anchor,  the  multitude  of  blooms,  and  far  up  on 


SOME  MOUNTAIN  LAKES      149 

dizzy  ledges  the  nimble  goats  and  sheep  skipping 
about. 

Standing  on  Gunsight  Pass,  by  facing  about, 
we  looked  down  upon  two  exquisite  lakelets. 
One,  a  blue  jewel,  lies  3,000  feet  below,  locked 
within  the  arms  of  Gunsight  and  Jackson  Moun- 
tains. Down  the  black  and  austere  walls  are 
rushing  many  white  streams  to  mingle  with  the 
blue  below.  At  sunset  this  lakelet  becomes  a 
laver  of  gold.  Looking  southwest  in  a  different 
angle  of  the  same  mountains,  beautiful  Lake  El- 
len Wilson  appears  iridescent  under  the  magical 
caresses  of  the  sun,  or  again  it  bears  on  its  small 
mirror-like  surface  shadows  of  the  impending 
cliffs  and  far-away  clouds. 

Avalanche  Lake!  Words  seemed  sacrilegious 
in  the  face  of  such  marvellous  beauty  and  we  paid 
a  silent  tribute  to  the  work  of  Nature.  Enclosed 
by  mountain  walls  on  all  sides  except  at  the  out- 
let, this  gem  of  the  mountains  lies  in  a  hollow 
carved  by  some  ancient  glacier.  From  the  water's 
edge  dark  green  forests  of  pines  and  spruces 
clothe  portions  of  the  steep  slopes  until  they  give 
way  to  snowy  fields  and  coloured  strata  of  bare 
rock.  To  the  eastward  rises  a  wall  of  rock  whose 
dark  sides  are  veined  with  six  long  trails  of  foam- 
ing water  escaping  from  the  imprisoned  Sperry 


150    GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

Glacier  far  above,  and  plunging  wildly  to  the 
bosom  of  the  milky  white  lake  below.  Glacial  fed 
and  with  its  surface  enlivened  with  countless  bub- 
bles this  lake  looks  like  nothing  so  much  as  a 
beautiful  pearl  sunk  deep  in  its  rugged  setting 
of  cirque  walls. 

Lake  McDonald  near  Belton  is  a  familiar 
name.  In  size  and  setting  it  resembles  the  Italian 
lakes  more  than  any  other  in  the  Park.  Unlike 
the  other  lakes  it  is  not  walled  in.  From  the 
shores  of  this  entrancing  sheet  of  water  grad- 
ually rise  wonderfully  wooded  hills  which  sweep 
on  and  up  until  lost  in  a  silent  group  of  moun- 
tains, looming  high  against  the  blue  sky  and 
guarding  the  upper  end  of  the  lake.  These  at- 
tractive sentinels  are  Stanton,  Edwards,  Brown, 
Vaught,  and  Canyon  Mountains — a  goodly  ar- 
ray. 

The  chief  charm  of  matchless  Lake  McDon- 
ald lies  in  the  clearness  of  its  blue  depths  fed 
by  silvery  threads  of  water  and  noisy  cataracts. 
Keen  was  our  delight  when  the  little  boat  swung 
out  into  the  lake  and  headed  for  the  distant  peaks. 
We  wondered  at  the  purity  and  depth  of  the 
water,  clear  as  crystal,  when  in  this  perfect  look- 
ing-glass of  Nature  the  most  unrivalled  reflec- 
tions took  definite  form.  It  caught  every  mood 


AVAI.ANTHK    LAKE 


SOME  MOUNTAIN  LAKES       151 

of  the  restless  sky  and  the  rich  green  of  the  sur- 
rounding shore-hills,  while  the  distant  mountains 
with  their  snow-steeples  appeared  to  stand  erect 
in  its  tranquil  depths. 


CHAPTER  1X2 

ON    GLACIERS 

TIME  was,  long  ages  before  history  began, 
when  a  large  part  of  the  North  American 
Continent,  including  the  region  of  Glacier  Na- 
tional Park,  was  covered  with  great  sheets  of  ice. 
There  were  several  stages  of  this  Glacial  Period, 
or  Great  Ice  Age,  during  which  were  chiselled 
the  characteristic  and  beautiful  features  of  this 
Alpine  wonderland.  The  rock-walled  amphi- 
theatre, the  rugged  peaks,  the  charming  valleys, 
the  polished  cliffs,  the  lovely  lake  basins,  are  all 
the  work  of  these  gigantic  and  ancient  glaciers. 
Within  the  borders  of  Glacier  National  Park 
there  are  to-day  "hanging  gardens"  garlanding 
some  of  the  finest  of  the  peaks.  These  present- 
day  glaciers  are  widely  distributed  but  not  stu- 
pendous. They  are  very  insignificant  in  size 
when  compared  with  the  great  glaciers  of  the 
Canadian  Rockies;  the  "awful  sea-going  breed- 
ers of  icebergs"  in  Alaska;  and  the  Rhone 
Glacier,  Mer  de  Glace,  and  Glacier  des  Bossons 

152 


ON  GLACIERS  153 

of  the  Alps.  However,  they  have  a  splendid  set- 
ting in  this  Alpine  region,  and  form  one  of  the 
most  interesting  features  of  sight-seeing  trips 
open  to  the  appreciative  tourist. 

Small  as  are  the  glaciers  of  Glacier  National 
Park,  comparatively  speaking,  they  are  in  every 
respect  typical  in  structure,  movement,  and  ac- 
tivity of  the  greatest  ice-fields  of  the  world.  We 
may  observe  here  as  in  other  glacial  regions  the 
great  masses  of  soft  snow  which  falls  on  the  high 
mountain  tops ;  the  ice  on  the  upper  slopes 
formed  of  the  condensed  and  solidified  snow;  the 
various  changes  of  formation  as  the  glacier  moves 
gradually  downward  into  lower  and  warmer  re- 
gions; the  formation  of  chasms,  furrows  and 
crevasses  in  its  surface  caused  by  various  strains 
due  to  unequal  rates  of  motion  and  variations 
in  the  slope  of  the  glacier  bed ;  the  imprinting  of 
the  dates  of  its  passage  upon  the  great  rock  walls ; 
the  building  up  of  lateral  and  terminal  moraines 
by  the  rocks  and  debris  which  it  has  carried  on  its 
back  or  plucked  from  the  soil;  and  finally,  the 
ending  of  its  work  and  life  in  the  valley  below, 
where  it  melts  into  "gletcher-milch"  flowing  in 
many  rivulets  to  join  a  mountain  torrent. 

Throughout  the  Park  there  are  recesses  among 
the  great  ranges  that  are  reminders  of  the  scor- 


154,    GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

ing  and  plucking  of  the  ancient  glaciers.  These 
are  the  numerous  cirques  marking  the  reservoirs 
which  they  once  occupied.  To-day  instead  of 
being  filled  with  neve,  many  hundred  feet  deep, 
they  have  resulted  in  lovely  Alpine  parks  and 
wooded  hollows  of  great  beauty  of  contour,  or 
bare  and  empty  rock-wall  basins  high  up  on  the 
mountain  side. 

Geological  survey  has  covered  the  greater  part 
of  the  Park,  and  while  there  are  considerable 
glacial  phenomena  not  yet  studied,  about  ninety 
of  the  glaciers  have  been  examined. 

The  principal  glaciers  in  that  part  of  the  Park 
which  is  most  accessible  to  the  tourist  are: 

1.  Region  of  Gunsight  Chalets:    Blackfeet 
Glacier.    The  largest  glacier  in  Glacier  National 
Park  and  readily  accessible.     An  approximate 
area  of  three  square  miles.    Lying  in  a  depres- 
sion between  Mt.  Jackson  and  Blackfeet  Moun- 
tain. 

Harrison  Glacier.  On  south  face  of  Mt.  Jack- 
son. 

Pumpelly  Glacier.  On  south  face  of  Black- 
feet  Mountain. 

2.  Region     of     Sperry     Chalets:       S perry 
Glacier.    Next   in   size   to   Blackfeet    Glacier. 
Area  about  one  square  mile.     Outlook  of  3,000 


ON  GLACIERS  155 

feet  down  into  Avalanche  Basin.     Discovered 
and  named  by  Prof.  Lyman  Beecher  Sperry. 

3.  Region  of  Red  Eagle  Valley:  Red  Eagle 
Glacier.    At  the  headwaters  of  Red  Eagle  Creek, 
on  the  east  face  of  Mt.  Logan.    Split  Mountain 
Glacier.    On  the  north  face  of  Split  Mt. 

4.  Region    of     Going-to-the-Sun     Chalets: 
Sexton  Glacier.     May  be  explored  from  Piegan 
Pass.    Visible  from  the  head  of  St.  Mary's  Lake. 
On  the  east  side  of  Going-to-the-Sun  Mt.  Little 
Chief  Glacier.    On  east  face  of  Little  Chief  Mt. 

5.  Many  Glacier  Region:     Grinnell  Glacier. 
Named  in  honour  of  George  Bird  Grinnell,  one 
of  the  first  to  explore  these  mountains.     Area 
about  one  mile.     Between  Gould  and  Grinnell 
Mts.     Visible  from  Many  Glacier  Hotel. 

Swift  Current  Glacier.  Accessible  from  Pie- 
gan Pass  Trail.  On  north  face  of  Siyeh  Mt. 

Piegan  Glacier.    On  east  face  of  Piegan  Mt. 

Canyon  Creek  Glacier.  Above  the  beautiful 
lake  at  the  head  of  Canyon  Creek. 

6.  Region  of  Ahern  Pass:    Chaney  Glacier. 
Named  in  honour  of  Prof.  L.  W.  Chaney,  Jr.,  of 
Carleton    College,    Northfield,   Minn.     On   the 
Continental  Divide  about  five  miles  northwest  of 
Ahern  Pass. 

Sue  Lake  Glacier.    Above  Sue  Lake  west  of 


156    GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

Chancy  Glacier.  Source  of  icebergs  floating  in 
the  lake. 

She  par d  Glacier.  Named  for  E.  R.  Shepard 
of  Minneapolis,  Minn.  Occupies  two  levels  of 
cirque.  West  of  creek  which  flows  out  of  Sue 
Lake. 

In  the  northwestern  part  of  Glacier  National 
Park  is  an  interesting  area  of  glaciers.  This 
section  is  away  from  the  Park's  travelled  trails, 
but  is  accessible  to  those  who  choose  to  "rough 
it."  Here  one  may  explore  Vulture  Peak 
Glaciers  on  east  slope  of  Vulture  Peak. 

Carter  Glacier.    Near  Jefferson  Pass. 

Rainbow  Glacier.  On  the  east  flank  of  Rain- 
bow Peak. 

Olson  Creek  Glacier.  At  the  head  of  the  val- 
ley of  Olson  Creek. 

Boulder  Glacier.  At  the  head  of  Bowman 
Creek  Valley. 

Agassiz  Glacier.  On  the  northeast  slope  of 
Kintla  Mt. 

Kintla  Glacier.  On  the  west  flank  of  Kintla 
Mt. 

Of  the  appearance  and  real  nature  of  a  glacier 
it  is  difficult  to  form  even  an  approximately  cor- 
rect conception.  One  must  walk  upon  the  back 
of  such  an  ice-monster,  and  gaze  into  its  awful 


ON  GLACIERS  157 

depths  and  crevasses  before  it  can  be  known  to 
one. 

There  is  no  glacier  in  the  Park  so  easily  acces- 
sible to  the  tourist  as  Blackfeet  Glacier,  hence 
when  we  reached  Gunsight  Camp,  our  chief  in- 
terest lay  in  the  ascent  of  Mt.  Jackson  to  the 
glacier,  and  its  exploration  as  far  as  circum- 
stances permitted. 

Having  duly  complied  with  the  government 
regulations  regarding  the  ascent  of  Blackfeet 
Glacier,  we  were  provided  with  long  Alpine 
stocks  and  belts.  Donald,  who  accompanied  us, 
carried  an  emergency  equipment  and  the  required 
ropes  and  belt  as  well  as  his  stout  stick.  At 
nine  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  as  bright  and 
lovely  a  day  as  one  could  wish  we  started  out. 
From  the  Gunsight  Chalets  for  a  mile  or  more, 
the  trail,  a  pretty  winding  path,  led  southward 
through  an  Alpine  meadow  5,300  feet  high, 
covered  with  flowery  turf  and  interspersed  with 
rocks. 

Then  began  a  climb  of  500  feet  up  the  north 
flank  of  Mt.  Jackson  by  a  path  very  narrow 
and  in  places  worn  into  steps  like  those  of  a 
rude  rock  staircase.  At  first  we  passed  through 
thick  pine  woods  that  shut  out  every  prospect, 
but  as  we  mounted  higher  and  paused  to  rest  at 


158    GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

frequent  intervals,  the  trees  formed  lovely 
glimpses  of  Citadel,  Going-to-the-Sun  and  Little 
Chief  Mts. 

Huge  boulders  strangely  carved  and  chiselled, 
embedded  deeply  in  the  soil  along  the  trail,  gave 
evidence  of  the  extent  of  the  old-time  glaciers  of 
this  land.  After  we  came  out  of  the  shadow  of 
the  trees  we  entered  bare  ground  save  for  the 
green  turf  strewn  with  brightly  coloured  Alpine 
flowers.  The  "ridge,"  as  Donald  called  the 
morainal  embankment  near  the  foot  of  the  main 
lobe  of  the  western  part  of  the  glacier,  shut  out 
that  white,  gleaming  mass,  backed  against  the 
upper  mountain  slope  of  that  peak  which  we  were 
ascending. 

At  last  we  clambered  over  a  strangely  piled 
up  wall,  a  sort  of  dyke  of  boulders  and  frag- 
ments of  stone  which  had  fallen  from  the  terminal 
margin  of  the  glacier.  Now  we  had  a  full  clear 
view  of  a  marvellous  and  interesting  scene  spread 
out  before  us.  Blackfeet  Glacier  of  the  type 
known  as  "cliff  glacier"  lay  in  a  cirque  or  de- 
pression extending  in  an  east-west  line  about 
three  miles,  and  from  its  upper  crest  downward 
about  one  and  one-half  miles.  Narrowing  down 
from  its  spreading  upper  margin  to  the  valley 
below,  it  looked  like  a  great  white  out-spreading 


BLACKFEET   GLACIER 


ON  GLACIERS  159 

fan.  Our  eyes  swept  round  curiously,  and  from 
our  observation  point  we  saw  it  all  distinctly — 
the  neve  or  upper  snow  field  feeding  the  glacier ; 
the  lateral  glaciers,  eastern  and  western,  con- 
verging into  the  central  or  main  trunk  glacier; 
the  morainal  lines  which  come  in  with  the  lateral 
glaciers;  the  cascading  snow  over  the  upper 
ledges;  and  the  "bergschund"  or  crevasse  far  up 
the  slope,  marking  the  line  of  separation  of  the 
neVe  and  moving  ice. 

As  we  crossed  over  the  western  part  of  the 
glacier  we  found  no  great  difficulties  obstruct- 
ing our  progress.  It  was  nearly  noon  and  the 
sun  was  hot.  We  were  conscious  of  a  sort  of 
humming  or  rustling  in  the  thousands  of  little 
channels  crossing  each  other — each  one  a  vein  of 
ice  water.  With  careful  steps  and  firm  tread  we 
succeeded  in  walking  about  without  slips  and 
sitting  down  on  the  shining  perspiring  surface. 

In  many  places  we  encountered  stretches 
where  the  surface  was  covered  with  so-called  ice- 
needles  and  sharp-crested  ridges,  making  the 
footing  exceedingly  unpleasant  and  even  dan- 
gerous; but  we  saw  only  enough  crevasses  to 
make  us  realise  that  we  must  be  watchful  and 
not  slip  into  them. 

Suddenly  and  without  warning  we  were  star- 


160    GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

tied  by  a  deafening  report.  Directing  ourselves 
to  Donald  for  safety,  he  anticipated  our  inquiry 
by  grinning  at  us  and  pointing  to  the  highest 
slope  far  from  us.  His  pantomime  was  suf- 
ficiently plain  to  us.  We  were  in  no  danger.  A 
part  of  the  lovely  but  exceedingly  treacherous 
mass  of  snow  which  hung  over  the  ridges  above 
the  glacier  which  we  had  been  admiring  but  a 
short  time  before,  had  cascaded  over  the  rocks 
to  the  ice  below.  There  it  would  remain  to  be 
welded  to  the  lower  mass  by  repeated  thawing 
and  freezing. 

Donald,  believing  perhaps  that  our  nerves  had 
been  sufficiently  shattered  to  require  a  rest,  sug- 
gested that  it  was  long  past  lunch  time  and  that 
he  knew  of  a  big  boulder  perched  high  on  the 
moraine  to  the  west,  where  we  could  eat  our  lunch 
and  at  the  same  time  enjoy  the  glorious  peaks 
all  around  us, — Almost-a-Dog,  Fusillade,  Reyn- 
olds, Going-to-the-Sun,  Citadel  and  many  more 
in  the  far  distances.  Our  appetites  had  been 
whetted  by  the  exertions  of  the  last  three  hours, 
hence  we  did  justice  to  the  good  things  with 
which  our  boxes  were  filled,  though  we  missed 
the  hot  coffee  which  Donald  prepared  for  us  when 
we  "camped"  for  an  hour  that  day  near  Piegan 
Pines.  We  threw  cookies  at  the  little  black  and 


ON  GLACIERS  161 

white  mountain  marmots  that  came  from  out  be- 
hind the  rocks  to  look  at  us.  They  are  shy  but 
very  interesting  little  creatures.  Their  teasing 
whistle  may  be  heard  on  nearly  every  trail  of  the 
Park. 

As  we  walked  over  to  the  flank  of  the  glacier 
again  we  noticed  that  in  many  places  the  ice 
thinned  to  the  foot  of  the  moraines  and  some- 
times showed  the  layers  of  different  composition 
of  ice  in  zones — some  clear,  some  dirty,  some 
whitish,  and  some  bluish.  We  examined  several 
of  the  great  cracks  and  fissures,  which  have  gen- 
erally at  the  upper  surface  an  elliptical  shape. 
Some  we  easily  leaped  across,  but  several  were 
fifteen  or  more  feet  in  width.  A  look  into  these 
revealed  the  most  exquisite  tints  of  colours. 
This  phenomenon  of  colour  seems  one  of  bewitch- 
ment, for  some  of  this  ice  which  radiated  in  the 
glacier  cavern  with  a  flame  like  indigo  lost  all  its 
beautiful  colouring  when  Donald  had  chipped 
off  a  piece  and  brought  it  to  the  light  of  day. 
It  then  appeared  like  any  other  colourless  piece 
of  lake  or  river  ice. 

These  grottoes,  too,  showed  the  structures  of 
the  glacial  ice,  which  is  formed  by  a  series  of 
transformations  by  the  sun,  the  rain,  and  the 
frost  into  veins  of  white  or  blue.  We  saw  prac- 


162    GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

tically  no  drift  embedded  in  the  ice  forming  the 
walls  of  the  crevasses.  Very  little  debris  is 
known  to  fall  from  the  upper  slopes  upon  Black- 
feet  Glacier. 

As  we  made  our  way  slowly  down  the  steep 
slippery  descent  to  the  valley  floor,  the  rushing 
of  the  water  as  it  flowed  in  rivulets  upon  the  ice 
became  more  and  more  distinct.  The  speed  with 
which  the  water  flowed  down  was  augmented  by 
the  frontal  slope  which  seemed  more  than  15 
degrees.  In  some  places  the  water  had  cut  deeply 
into  the  ice,  and  frequently  formed  small  rivers 
two  feet  wide. 

At  the  extreme  front  of  the  lower  lobe  on 
which  we  were  walking  the  ice  was  fairly  dirty 
from  the  rubbish  proceeding  from  the  medial 
moraines — at  least  it  was  much  more  discoloured 
than  farther  up  the  slope ;  and  the  water  changed 
in  colour  to  a  milky- white  as  it  poured  from  the 
frontal  banks.  It  was  thick  with  silt  from  the 
rocks  ground  and  powdered  beneath  the  glacier. 

Everywhere,  as  we  walked  along  the  front 
margin  of  Blackfeet  Glacier,  we  noted  the  soft, 
fine  rock  flour  which  forms  the  main  composition 
of  the  morainal  embankment.  In  this  were  em- 
bedded various  kinds  of  rocks,  large  and  small; 
some  which  the  glacier  had  carried  on  its  back 


ON  GLACIERS  168 

from  the  upper  mountain  slopes  were  hardly 
worn,  but  others  showed  the  results  of  being 
plucked  from  out  the  soil  and  carried  under- 
neath millions  of  tons  of  ice  over  the  granite 
and  limestone  rocks  of  its  bed.  These  were 
polished  and  chiselled  and  showed  striated  facets. 
In  but  few  places  did  the  ice  extend  to  the  drifts, 
as  the  glacier  thinned  some  distance  farther  up 
the  slope.  The  ground  of  course  was  bare  of 
vegetation,  but  not  far  below  the  morainal  loop 
trees  were  growing. 

Many  glacial  brooks  fed  by  countless  milky 
streams  that  poured  from  out  as  many  tiny 
glacier  gates  were  hurrying  to  join  the  torrent 
which  is  the  headwaters  of  St.  Mary's  River. 
Here  we  loitered  for  a  time  and  then  hiked  back 
to  Gunsight  Camp  some  three  miles  away. 


CHAPTER  X 

TYPES  OF  TOURISTS 

IN  all  conditions  of  life  and  under  all  circum- 
stances, people  must  always  furnish  a  most 
interesting  subject  for  study.  To  the  student 
of  human  nature  the  analysis  of  character  pre- 
sents an  ever-varying  panorama  of  motives,  emo- 
tions, impulses,  and  results,  as  evidenced  by  bear- 
ing and  conduct.  Close  observation  of  the  same 
traits  in  a  number  of  people  leads  one  to  classify 
individuals  possessing  such  similar  characteristics 
as  representatives  of  a  type. 

Each  individual  thus  fits  into  a  class  typical 
of  markings  which  differentiates  this  particular 
class  from  every  other.  These  features  mark- 
ing one  are  usually  so  manifest  that  the  close 
observer  can  easily  classify  him  who  comes  within 
close  range  of  study. 

We  took  great  interest  and  profited  not  a  lit- 
tle in  taking  notice  of  tourists  as  they  appeared 
to  us  during  our  stay  in  Glacier  Park.  This 
magnificent  park  in  itself  is  so  natural  and  free 

164 


TYPES  OF  TOURISTS  165 

from  the  innovations  and  artificialities  of  an  over- 
civilization  that  the  least  suggestion  of  these  en- 
cumbrances within  its  borders  seems  like  presum- 
ing upon  Nature. 

Such  a  place  affords  a  wonderful  opportunity 
for  type  study,  as  here  East  and  West  come  to- 
gether, while  North  greets  South.  Travellers 
from  every  section  of  our  country  meet  here  on 
common  ground,  and  it  is  noticeable  that  many 
formalities  deemed  fitting  and  necessary  with 
other  environment  are  here  dispensed  with.  Pos- 
sibly a  feeling  of  individual  proprietorship  is  in  a 
measure  responsible  for  this  license,  and  each 
one  feels  himself  acting  the  part  of  a  host  to  a 
degree,  for  at  the  gateway  entrance,  high  in  the 
breeze,  proudly  floats  the  Stars  and  Stripes,  un- 
der which  banner  every  place  is  home  to  the 
American  citizen. 

Our  first  specimen  for  observation  was  the  self- 
satisfied,  rather  corpulent,  be-diamoned-ringed 
woman  whose  only  home  is  a  hotel  wherever  she 
may  be.  This  individual  was  upward  of  sixty 
years,  I  should  judge,  though  her  bleached  hair, 
rouged  cheeks  and  well-groomed  figure  might 
lead  the  casual  observer  to  place  her  rather  nearer 
the  meridian  of  youth. 

Conspicuous  at  all  times  in  the  forest-lobby 


166    GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

and  hovering  near  the  great  fireplace,  her  time 
was  spent  in  reading  or  playing  solitaire  except 
at  such  times  as  propinquity  enabled  her  to  draw 
into  conversation  some  unsuspecting  one  from 
whom  she  might  learn  some  interesting  point 
about  a  recent  arrival,  or  into  whose  ear  she 
might  pour  some  information,  the  obtaining  of 
which  had  satisfied  her  previous  curiosity. 

As  Glacier  Park  is  a  new  resort  she  must  know 
something  of  it  personally,  though  her  acquain- 
tance be  limited  to  the  entrance  hotel.  Having 
conversed  with  many  who  had  gone  through  the 
Park,  she  would  in  the  future  be  able  to  speak  in- 
telligently and  eloquently  of  its  beauties,  giving 
special  emphasis  to  the  unsurpassed  views  ob- 
tained from  the  dizzy  heights  of  the  skyland 
trails. 

Another  type  much  in  evidence  was  this  most 
interesting  one,  common  the  world  over,  always 
has  been,  and  always  will  be  as  long  as  time  and 
humanity  endure,  unless  possibly  the  so-called 
emancipation  of  woman  through  the  ballot  may 
tend  in  future  generations  to  free  her  also  from 
the  shackles  of  marriage  with  which  its  ardent 
supporters  feel  their  sex  burdened. 

This  great  army  of  "honey-mooners"  has  its 
representatives  here  each  season.  The  markings 


TYPES  OF  TOURISTS  167 

of  this  type  are  unmistakable  in  each  of  the  sev- 
eral sub-divisions  of  the  general  class. 

Here  appear  in  the  hotel  lobby  a  pair  who 
immediately  become  the  cynosure  of  all  eyes. 
The  bride  is  the  clinging-vine  variety,  who  with  a 
proud,  exultant  look  views  her  unhampered  sis- 
ters sitting  contentedly  about  the  fireplace,  with 
a  look  of  mingled  sympathy  and  supreme  tri- 
umph for  having  captured  this  prize,  while  the 
manner  of  the  bridegroom  plainly  declares,  "I 
permit  this  woman  to  adore  me."  After  flitting 
to  and  from  the  station  to  watch  the  arrival  and 
departure  of  trains,  viewing  the  mountain  scen- 
ery from  the  veranda,  sending  post-cards  to  rela- 
tives and  friends,  and  purchasing  some  souvenirs 
for  themselves,  in  a  day  or  two  they  vanish,  no 
doubt  able  to  give  detailed  information  regard- 
ing the  wonders  of  Glacier  Park. 

Another  brand!  Stepping  to  the  tune  of 
Mendelssohn  and  with  the  strains  of  "Beloved, 
It  Is  Morn,"  or,  "At  Thy  Sweet  Voice,"  still 
ringing  in  their  ears,  they  make  their  way  to  the 
transportation  desk  to  arrange  their  itinerary 
through  the  Park.  We  were  asked  if  we  would 
like  to  join  them  under  one  guide,  but  we  de- 
clined for  we  had  come  solely  for  the  scenery, 
and  notwithstanding  the  old  saying,  "All  the 


168    GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

world  loves  a  lover,"  at  this  particular  time  we 
could  not  acquiesce  in  the  sentiment.  However, 
our  route  lay  parallel  with  theirs  for  a  time, 
and  we  were  sometimes  prone  to  wonder  if 
their  eyes,  like  the  mirrored  lakes,  really  did  re- 
flect the  beauties  and  wonders  of  these  awe- 
inspiring  places,  for  ever  and  anon  each  directed 
his  gaze  to  the  other.  How  they  managed  to  keep 
in  their  saddles  down  the  precipitous  descents 
is  still  a  wonder,  but  self-preservation  must  have 
claimed  its  right.  At  Iceberg  Lake  the  guide 
was  sent  ahead  to  "take  a  picture"  of  the  most 
wonderful  lake  in  America,  while  "little  wife" 
and  her  knight  rested  beside  a  huge  rock.  We 
met  them  again  at  the  hotel  where  they  were  most 
enthusiastic  over  the  mountains,  lakes,  and  val- 
leys, and  heard  them  relate  thrilling  adventures 
in  traversing  Gunsight  Pass  and  scaling  the  ut- 
most peak  of  Mt.  Jackson ! ! ! 

How  differently  from  the  foregoing  are  we 
impressed  with  the  true  nature-lovers  of  this 
type.  Dignified  in  manner,  and  clad  appropri- 
ately in  knickerbocker  and  meadowbrook  riding 
suits  they  are  here  with  keen  appreciation.  Tour- 
ing the  park  thoroughly  and  mutually  interested 
in  every  new  feature,  they  discuss  these  with  fel- 
low-tourists. For  them  no  ride  is  too  strenuous, 


TYPES  OF  TOURISTS  169 

no  climb  too  fatiguing,  no  trail  too  steep.  With 
great  interest  one  day  we  watched  them  climb  to 
a  dizzy  height  in  an  attempt  to  get  close  enough 
to  some  mountain  sheep  to  get  a  picture.  These 
nimble  animals  led  them  a  merry  chase,  and 
whether  they  succeeded  in  getting  the  picture  or 
not,  I  do  not  know,  but  the  exhilaration  of  the 
climb,  the  fun  of  pursuit  and  the  risk  involved 
amply  repaid  them. 

Camera  fiend?  Yes,  he  is  conspicuous  through- 
out the  Park.  One's  equipment  seems  almost  in- 
complete without  this  much-prized  object  hang- 
ing from  the  shoulder.  Most  tourists  use  the 
camera  in  moderation  and  with  judgment,  yet 
there  stands  out  prominently  the  specimen  who 
"takes"  everything  regardless  of  other's  rights, 
of  good  breeding,  or  of  the  value  of  the  subject. 
We  had  arranged  with  Yellow  Head  and  his 
wife,  that  on  a  certain  morning  they  should  pose 
for  us  in  their  picturesque  Indian  costume.  We 
had  placed  them  and  were  focussing  the  camera 
when  we  heard  a  rushing  through  the  grass,  a 
hurried  breathing  and  a  quick  snap,  followed 
closely  by  a  second.  Turning,  we  fronted  my 
lady  who  wore  a  satisfied  look  for  her  achieve- 
ment. We  hastily  handed  a  generous  fee  to  Yel- 
low Head,  whereupon  the  chagrined  interrupter 


170    GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

began  searching  in  her  pocket-book  which  un- 
fortunately she  carried  in  plain  sight. 

Would  you  believe  there  are  wimpus  believ- 
ers! A  model  of  this  creature  occupies  a  con- 
spicuous place  over  the  newsstand  in  Glacier 
Park  Hotel.  Close  observation  and  careful  study 
of  the  external  appearance  of  the  animal  show  it 
to  be  a  mixture  of  fish,  monkey,  reptile,  cat, 
spider,  and  bat.  Therefore  its  idiosyncrasies 
must  be  remarkable.  One  would  travel  a  long 
way  to  find  a  more  curious  specimen  of  animal 
life  than  is  to  be  found  in  the  Glacier  Park 
wimpus.  The  only  detail  now  to  ascertain  is  its 
origin.  It  is  said  to  dwell  in  the  tops  of  tall 
trees  and  from  there  to  fly  down  and  attack  in- 
nocent travellers,  but  that  no  harm  is  to  be 
feared  if  one  knows  what  to  do  when  he  sees  one 
coming.  We  saw  no  wimpus. 

There  is  one  unmistakable  type  of  tourist. 
They  are  the  people  who  when  at  home  are  used 
to  and  care  for  not  even  the  mildest  form  of 
exercise,  and  consequently  are  utterly  unfit  for  a 
tour  of  the  Park  as  far  as  physical  preparation 
is  concerned.  This  does  not  deter  them,  how- 
ever, from  taking  a  gait  that  outclasses  by  far  the 
accomplishments  of  the  most  seasoned  mountain- 
climber.  Their  one  happiness  is  to  be  exhausted 


TYPES  OF  TOURISTS  171 

at  the  end  of  their  stunt.  Some  of  this  special 
brand  are  possessed  with  an  insane  idea  to  get 
sunburned,  exposing  their  throats  and  arms  until 
assured  of  an  actual  rawness. 

This  type  is  followed  by  the  tenderfoot  who 
overdoes  it  on  equipment,  making  sure  that  his 
boots  are  fitted  with  spurs  so  he  may  force  his 
horse  to  a  gallop  along  the  trails.  This  one's 
neck  is  sure  to  be  swathed  in  the  folds  of  a 
brightly  coloured  bandana. 

This  chattering  and  laughing  announce  the  ar- 
rival of  the  "Omega  Tau"  Convention  girls, 
numbering  some  two  hundred.  While  the  ma- 
jority prefer  the  automobile  ride  to  St.  Mary's, 
the  few  others  wish  to  try  a  trail  ride.  Horses 
are  made  ready,  and  awe-struck  and  nervous  for 
never  having  ridden  before,  the  girls  climb  into 
the  saddles,  dressed  as  for  the  matinee  save  for 
the  rented  divided  skirt — in  silk  hose,  pumps, 
garden-hats,  and  lingerie  waists.  With  knees 
hunched  up  they  follow  along  behind  the  guides 
who  lead  them  along  the  trail  through  the  woods 
for  a  while,  getting  them  back  to  the  hotel  in 
time  for  dinner.  During  the  evening  the  lobby 
resounds  with  college  songs  and  dancing  until 
their  special  train  is  called  and  soon  they  are 


172    GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

whirling  westward,  each  feeling  glad  to  have  had 
even  a  glimpse  of  Glacier  Park. 

In  procession  now  pass  rapidly  before  the 
mind's  eye  the  "lung  thinker"  who  returns  from 
his  trip  shouting  himself  hoarse  with  stories  of 
the  most  hair-breadth  escapes  and  most  thrilling 
achievements;  the  patronising-air  walking  tour- 
ist with  hair  parted  in  the  middle  and  wearing  a 
wrist  watch,  who  constantly  recounts  his  walk- 
ing through  the  Alps;  the  experienced  traveller 
who  in  an  hour's  time  takes  you  to  India,  Japan, 
Hawaii,  and  all  over  Europe;  and  the  beautifully 
dressed  lady  who  comes  in  at  night  after  a  walk 
over  wet  and  muddy  trails,  in  fashionable  velour 
suit,  high-heeled  pumps,  white  gloves,  and 
plumed  hat. 

At  last  we  find  the  true  nature-lover.  He  is 
here  because  he  knows  that  in  Glacier  Park  can 
be  seen  the  most  varied  and  awe-inspiring  scen- 
ery of  the  American  continent.  He  has  read  all 
available  subject-matter  and  has  a  definite  idea 
of  what  is  to  be  seen.  He  possesses  an  apprecia- 
tion of  nature  and  loves  it.  The  cold  bracing  air 
with  its  tang  of  balsam  and  pine  is  tonic  to  his 
nerves;  the  mighty  mountains  impart  their 
strength  to  him;  the  glaciers  impress  him  with 
their  mighty  silent  work,  the  result  of  which  will 


TYPES  OF  TOURISTS  173 

be  known  and  seen  ages  hence;  the  splendour  of 
the  trees  relieved  by  a  background  of  hills  and 
snow-mantled  mountains  gives  him  inexpressible 
pleasure;  the  wild-yawning  chasms  on  one  side 
with  gigantic  mountain  masses  on  the  other  fill 
him  with  reverence  and  awe ;  while  the  matchless 
beauty  and  grandeur  of  the  combined  wonders 
serve  to  develop  in  him  a  greater  gratitude  to 
the  Creator  whose  hand  has  so  bountifully 
equipped  this  marvellous  place  for  the  benefit 
and  enjoyment  of  His  creatures. 


CHAPTER  XI 

A  DAY  WITH  THE  BLACKFEET 

f  I^HE  legends  and  traditions  of  the  Blackfeet 
•^  Indians  are  perpetuated  in  the  names  of 
many  mountains,  lakes,  and  glaciers  of  Glacier 
National  Park,  where  for  ages  they  roamed  un- 
confined.  The  very  name  Blackfeet  carries  in- 
terest for  it  is  believed  to  refer  to  the  discolour- 
ing of  their  moccasins  in  the  ashes  of  prairie  fires 
or  possibly  to  black  painted  moccasins. 

This  portion  of  the  United  States  has  been 
their  home  for  centuries.  According  to  history 
and  tradition  the  Blackfeet  have  been  roving 
buffalo-hunters  with  no  fixed  habitations,  but  liv- 
ing in  tepees  which  could  be  easily  moved  from 
place  to  place.  They  possessed  no  knowledge 
of  pottery  or  canoes  nor  did  they  till  the  soil 
except  to  raise  tobacco.  They  gathered  the  camas 
which  grew  in  the  foothills,  the  bulbous  root 
of  which  was  used  as  a  food  by  them. 

Tradition  declares  they  date  back  to  a  period 
when  they  had  no  horses  but  hunted  game  on 

174 


DAY  WITH  THE  BLACKFEET    175 

foot.  Later  they  possessed  great  herds  of  horses 
taken  as  plunder.  Restless,  aggressive  and 
predacious  they  constantly  warred  with  neigh- 
bouring tribes  except  two  tribes  who  were  under 
their  protection.  In  early  times  their  attitude 
toward  the  United  States  was  unfriendly  and 
even  by  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  their  friend- 
ship was  doubted. 

Among  the  later  tribes  to  come  into  con- 
tact with  the  white  men  they  retain  to  the  present 
day  many  primitive  customs.  Of  these  are  many 
religious,  war  and  social  dances  and  secret  so- 
cieties for  various  purposes.  Their  "sacred  bun- 
dles," around  each  of  which  centres  a  special  cere- 
mony, carry  a  charm  of  mysticism,  weirdness,  and 
potency.  Nearly  every  adult  has  his  personal 
"medicine"  which  is  no  less  than  a  charm  to  ward 
off  evil  spirits. 

Their  principal  gods  are  the  Sun  and  a  super- 
natural being  known  as  Napi  or  "Old  Man." 
The  Sun  is  to  them  the  visible  source  of  light  and 
life  and  a  symbol  of  the  invisible  Great  Spirit. 
Napi  may  be  an  incarnation  of  the  same  idea. 
Their  dead  are  laid  away  in  trees  or  in  specially 
built  tepees  on  hills. 

Browning,  just  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
is  the  agency  headquarters  for  the  Blackfeet 


Indian  Reservation.  Westward  a  few  miles 
looms  against  the  sky  the  great  Continental  Di- 
vide, marked  throughout  its  length  by  many 
towering  peaks. 

Should  one  be  fortunate  enough  to  be  in  this 
region  and  visit  Browning  about  July  4th  he 
might  witness  a  spectacle  never  to  be  forgotten. 
Here  may  be  seen  in  the  flat  on  Willow  Creek 
a  great  oval  camp  of  tepees  housing  several  thou- 
sand Blackfeet  who  have  assembled  here  for  their 
annual  re-union,  at  which  the  old-time  days  of 
this  people  are  reproduced  with  great  reverence. 

We  were  highly  pleased  when  we  learned  that 
a  day's  trip  by  automobile  to  this  place  had  been 
arranged.  We  were  alert  instantly  upon  reach- 
ing there  for  as  we  walked  toward  the  camp  we 
saw  Indian  horses  in  great  numbers  scattered 
about  and  dogs  of  all  colours,  sizes  and  kinds. 
Motley  figures  were  moving  about  both  on  foot 
and  on  horseback. 

In  the  distance,  facing  the  sun,  the  Indian 
lodges  were  arranged  in  a  circle.  Within  the 
open  space  of  the  circle  were  two  lodges  for  the 
"Crazy  Dog"  party  which  in  old  days  was  a 
society  to  keep  order.  Now  these  lodges  are 
make  believe  police  headquarters.  Opposite  the 
circle  is  another  lodge  bearing  painted  figures  of 


DAY  WITH  THE  BLACKFEET    177 

men  and  horses.  Needless  to  say  the  work  as 
a  piece  of  art  is  crude  and  simple  but  it  tells  its 
story.  Not  long  ago  one  of  their  big  men,  "Lit- 
tle Plume,"  passed  beyond  and  this  tepee  has 
been  placed  here  apart  from  the  others,  that  his 
spirit  might  return,  though  unseen,  to  this  lodge 
and  have  a  place  in  this  celebration.  That  he 
was  a  warrior,  great  and  victorious  in  battle,  is 
recorded  in  the  rude  pictures  all  around  his  lodge. 

The  men  who  have  charge  of  this  camp  to-day 
are  Little  Dog,  the  Head-Chief,  assisted  by  such 
big  men  as  Bear  Chief,  Jack  Big  Moon,  Buffalo 
Body,  White  Quiver,  Bad  Married,  Crow  Eyes 
and  others.  Each  lodge  is  decorated  with  some 
totemic  symbol  telling  its  story  to  those  who  are 
able  to  interpret  its  mysterious  emblems. 

Sit  with  us  on  the  hillside  where  we  can  over- 
look the  camp.  About  two  o'clock  the  beat  of 
the  tomtoms  heralds  the  activities  of  the  after- 
noon and  evening  and  is  the  signal  for  the  Red 
people  to  deck  out  in  their  finest  costumes.  Later 
they  begin  to  appear  dressed  elaborately  in  their 
bright  and  attractive  Indian  toggery.  The  men 
walk  about  in  slashed  buckskins  ornamented  pro- 
fusely with  beads,  quills,  and  weasel-skins  while 
their  heads  are  covered  with  war  bonnets  also 
decorated.  The  squaws  appear  in  bright  col- 


oured  beaded  skirts  with  loose  coats  of  buck- 
skins fairly  covered  with  elk  teeth  and  little 
tinkling  bells.  Both  men's  and  women's  faces  are 
brilliant  with  paint  of  yellow,  red,  black  or  other 
colours  equally  gay. 

This  brilliant  crowd  of  Blackfeet  now  slowly 
makes  its  way  toward  the  Medicine  Lodge  which 
is  built  of  poles  and  covered  with  boughs  and 
which  stands  in  the  middle  of  the  camp  circle. 
The  tomtom's  incessant  throb,  to  which  are  now 
added  the  sharp  tones  of  the  eagle  wing-bone 
whistle,  is  calling  the  people  to  this  lodge  to 
watch  Yellow  Owl  make  medicine.  We  drift 
along  with  the  crowd  and  find  a  position  from 
which  we  can  see  the  mysterious  ceremony. 

Opposite  the  door  of  the  Medicine  Lodge 
which  must  face  the  rising  sun  is  a  little  recess 
made  of  green  boughs  which  is  Yellow  Owl's 
"holy  of  holies."  Offerings  which  have  been 
given  to  the  sun  as  sacrifices  to  their  gods  are 
hanging  from  the  great  medicine  centre  pole  and 
are  not  to  be  touched. 

In  full  paraphernalia  a  circle  of  chiefs  stand 
inside  the  lodge  and  behind  them  are  massed  the 
brightly  dressed  Indians  reverently  watching 
Yellow  Owl  make  medicine  to  the  sun.  They 
understand  what  all  this  means.  The  weirdness 


DAY  WITH  THE  BLACKFEET    179 

and  magic  of  it  are  interwoven  into  their  lives 
until  it  is  a  part  of  their  very  being.  Making 
medicine  does  not  mean  a  curative  but  a  magic 
or  mystic  power.  By  making  an  appeal  to  and 
attracting  the  attention  of  the  sun  they  believe 
it  will  intercede  for  them  with  the  Great  In- 
visible. Let  us  not  condemn  the  Indian  as  a 
superstitious  being.  His  mind,  as  that  of  the 
white  civilised  human  mind,  reaches  out  for  some 
tangible  or  visible  expression  of  the  Creator. 

Let  us  look  closely  at  this  magician  or  medi- 
cine-man with  his  sinister  and  distrustful  face  as 
he  holds  his  spectators  spell-bound.  His  entire 
body  is  painted  in  yellow  ochre  and  naked  to  the 
waist,  from  which  falls  a  sort  of  blanket  drapery 
to  the  tops  of  his  moccasins.  His  head  is  tightly 
swathed  in  turban  style  with  black  silk  cloth. 
Holding  up  an  eagle  feather  in  one  hand  and  a 
cedar  branch  in  the  other  he  whistles,  accom-, 
panied  by  the  tomtom  beat,  and  gazes  at  the  sun 
for  an  hour,  constantly  swaying  his  body. 

Yellow  Owl  stands  for  one  long,  wearisome 
hour  making  medicine  to  attract  the  attention 
of  the  sun  which  must  look  with  favour  upon 
his  medicine  and  intercede  with  the  Great  Spirit 
else  all  this  work  is  in  vain.  Now  a  virgin,  who 
must  be  the  daughter  of  a  chief,  is  brought  into 


180    GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

the  Medicine  Lodge  to  be  offered  as  a  sacrifice 
to  the  sun.  Dressed  in  Indian  finery  and  with 
cheeks  painted  a  vermilion  red  she  enters  upon 
this  ceremony  that  the  sun  may  listen  to  the 
needs  of  her  people. 

Having  placed  her  in  front  of  the  Medicine 
Lodge  between  himself  and  the  sun,  Yellow  Owl 
stands  behind  her,  holding  over  her  head  a  pole 
to  which  are  fastened  material  medicine  sacrifices. 
Now  he  looks  straight  at  the  sun  and  chants  a 
medicine-prayer  imploring  the  sun  to  receive 
this  woman  as  an  offering  from  the  tribe.  They 
believe  the  sun  really  takes  her  spirit  to  his  lodge 
and  thenceforth  she  is  regarded  as  a  "Sun 
Woman"  or  the  wife  of  the  sun.  To  ensure  a 
charm  against  the  bad  gods  doing  her  harm 
Yellow  Owl  moves  the  pole  over  her  head  down 
to  the  ground  at  her  right  side,  thence  up  over 
her  head  and  down  to  the  ground  at  her  left  side, 
thereby  weaving  a  protecting  spell  about  her  as 
he  chants  a  prayer.  The  ceremony  has  been 
marked  by  the  most  intense  interest  and  the 
woman  now  leaves  the  lodge  known  by  all  as  the 
wife  of  the  sun. 

Yellow  Owl  now  makes  medicine  again,  using 
about  the  same  medicine  ceremony  as  before  ex- 
cept a  different  prayer-song.  This  is  to  call  the 


DAY  WITH  THE  BLACKFEET    181 

War  Gods  and  Personal  Gods  together  in  the  air 
to  witness  the  daring  and  glorious  deeds  show- 
ing personal  bravery  of  chiefs  in  the  old-time 
battle  days  which  are  presently  to  be  reproduced 
in  pantomime. 

Bear  Chief  announces  from  the  middle  of  the 
lodge  that  he  will  now  show  his  deeds  as  a  war- 
rior. Before  this  can  be  done  he  must  give  a 
sacrifice.  So  several  blankets,  bolts  of  cloth 
and  other  useful  articles  are  brought  in  by  the 
women  of  his  family  and  spread  out  in  view  near 
the  sacrifice  pole. 

The  chiefs  who  are  to  take  part  form  in  two 
lines  facing  each  other  on  either  side  of  the 
Medicine  Lodge  with  Bear  Chief  in  the  middle. 
One  line  represents  his  people  and  the  other  that 
of  the  enemy.  They  have  guns  loaded  with 
blank  cartridges  and  several  carry  coup-sticks 
which  are  six  or  eight  feet  long,  the  size  of  a  little 
finger,  and  bearing  an  eagle  feather  at  the  end. 
In  the  old  days  the  coup-stick  was  used  to  touch 
the  enemy  killed  by  any  warrior. 

Bear  Chief  now  makes  medicine  by  beating  on 
a  medicine  drum  and  blowing  the  eagle  wing- 
bone  whistle.  To  this  the  chiefs  add  a  war  chant 
and  at  a  little  distance  several  old  men  pound 
vigorously  on  a  rawhide  with  rattles  made  from 


182    GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

buffalo  bladder,  dried,  blown  up  and  filled  with 
small  stones.  Imagine  the  din  made  by  the  com- 
bined noise  of  drum,  whistle,  war  chant,  and  rat- 
tles with  an  occasional  war-whoop.  In  the  old 
days  the  Indians  were  wont  to  go  through  this 
ceremony  believing  it  to  be  good  medicine  and 
possessing  magic  power  to  help  them  in  their 
battles. 

Now  all  is  ready  for  the  action.  Crouching 
and  moving  back  and  forth  between  the  lines, 
Bear  Chief  with  his  whistle  and  drum  makes  war 
medicine  while  the  lines  retreat  and  advance  in 
succession,  singing  and  making  motions  of  imagi- 
nary war.  A  gun  pops,  followed  by  another  and 
another.  The  lines  charge  back  and  forth  and 
the  incessant  raw-hide  pounding  continues.  Bear 
Chief  now  springs  to  the  enemy's  line  and  seizes 
one  for  a  personal  struggle.  A  gun  pops  and 
they  fall  apart  as  Bear  Chief  falls.  His  side 
charges  the  other  and  drives  his  opponent  back  as 
Bear  Chief  limps  away. 

We  learn  from  this  of  a  personal  encounter 
Bear  Chief  had  with  an  enemy  and  was  wounded 
but  did  not  lose  his  scalp. 

After  a  short  interval  Bear  Chief  gives  an  ex- 
hibition of  his  skill  and  bravery  in  stealing  some 
horses.  He  makes  medicine  again  as  the  lines 


DAY  WITH  THE  BLACKFEET    183 

form,  retreating  and  advancing  as  before.  Sev- 
eral of  the  enemy  are  riding  coup-sticks  which 
represent  horses.  Suddenly  Bear  Chief  darts 
out,  runs  behind  the  enemy  line  and  seizes  the 
coup-stick  from  each  Indian  riding  one,  and  re- 
turns with  them  to  his  own  people.  This  act  is 
marked  by  much  shouting  and  laughing. 

Bear  Chief's  third  pantomime  is  the  most 
thrilling  reproduction  of  his  former  personal 
deeds.  The  preliminary  making  medicine  and 
war-chanting  with  side-stepping  to  the  raw-hide 
band  music  is  the  same  as  with  the  others.  From 
the  beginning  the  onset  is  terrific  as  the  lines  furi- 
ously charge  and  re-charge  amid  the  cracking  of 
guns.  Bear  Chief  and  one  of  the  enemy  now 
engage  in  a  desperate  man  to  man  fight,  rolling 
over  and  over  on  the  ground.  Finally  Bear 
Chief  rises  from  the  dust,  standing  over  his  fallen 
enemy.  Touching  him  with  his  coup-stick,  he 
raises  it  and  his  hands  to  the  sun,  then  stopping, 
goes  through  the  motion  of  scalping  his  dead  op- 
ponent and  with  a  blood  curdling  war-whoop  re- 
turns to  his  own  people. 

Thus  Bear  Chief  re-enacts  his  personal  en- 
counter with  a  Sioux  that  he  met,  killed,  and 
scalped. 

The  whole  afternoon  is  spent  in  watching  chief 


184    GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

after  chief  appear  in  this  symbolic  drama  and 
live  over  the  scenes  of  his  former  glory.  We 
remember,  too,  that  it  is  a  true  reproduction  of 
what  once  was  a  reality  in  those  days,  when  the 
chief  business  and  delight  of  an  Indian  was  to 
kill. 

Our  attention  is  drawn  now  to  another  attrac- 
tion not  far  away.  We  find  a  Grass  Dance  in 
full  swing.  Around  an  open  space  are  massed 
a  circle  of  Indians,  some  sitting,  some  standing. 
Music  for  the  dance  is  booming  from  a  huge 
drum  off  a  little  to  one  side,  upon  which  eight  or 
ten  finely  clad  young  Indians  are  pounding  with 
all  their  strength. 

We  inquire  the  reason  for  the  Grass  Dance 
and  learn  that  this  was  another  sort  of  religious 
ceremony  to  induce  the  gods  to  heed  the  desires 
of  the  people.  In  the  old  days  they  needed  and 
must  have  grass  for  their  horses  and  buffaloes. 
No  grass  meant  no  buffaloes  and  no  buffaloes 
meant  lack  of  food,  clothing,  skins  for  tepees  and 
many  other  necessary  things.  To  the  Indian 
mind  the  growth  of  grass  depended  entirely  on 
the  attitude  of  the  gods  toward  them.  They 
believed  the  gods  favoured  those  willing  to  make 
sacrifices  and  also  those  who  made  themselves  the 
most  attractive  in  their  eyes.  Therefore  they 


DAY  WITH  THE  BLACKFEET    185 

fairly  outdid  themselves  in  dressing  in  savage 
splendour,  in  dancing,  chanting,  and  painting 
themselves  in  the  most  brilliant  colours. 

We  step  near  the  circle  that  we  may  not  lose 
any  feature  of  this  ceremonial  which  in  the  old 
days  was  the  means  of  inducing  the  gods  to  pro- 
vide these  people  with  grass.  The  variety  of 
fancy  costumes  and  the  brilliant  display  of  colour 
first  impress  us.  Buckskins,  bright-coloured 
beads,  quills,  eagle  feathers,  cloth  of  bright  hues, 
bells,  and  vivid  paint,  play  a  prominent  part 
in  the  savage  idea  of  finery  which  is  here  in  all 
its  grotesqueness  evident  to  the  beholder.  We 
gaze  with  keen  interest  at  the  scene. 

The  drum  ceased  for  a  moment,  then  at  a  sig- 
nal booms  forth  again  accompanied  by  the  chant- 
ing of  the  drummers  in  a  dreary  monotone.  The 
dancers  sinuously  glide  forth  into  the  open  space 
with  a  sort  of  quick  chain-step  movement.  The 
jingling  of  bells  fastened  to  leggins  and  the 
noise  from  rattles  carried  in  the  hands  combine 
with  the  steady  drum-beat  to  produce  a  din  which, 
if  volume  of  noise  alone  were  necessary,  would 
be  sufficient  to  draw  the  gods  from  the  uttermost 
aerial  regions  of  the  universe. 

These  brightly  dressed  figures  continue  weav- 
ing in  and  out  from  a  seemingly  tangled  mass 


186    GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

of  beings,  each  in  perfect  step,  and  each  moving 
independently  in  his  own  direction  to  the  con- 
stant jingling  and  drum-beat.  Over  and  above 
all  the  hot  summer  sun  pours  down  its  yellow 
light  through  a  cloud  of  dust  which  softens  and 
partly  obscures  the  interesting  scene. 

As  we  look  upon  the  re-enactment  of  an  old  re- 
ligious ceremony  with  all  its  mystic  weirdness  we 
can  but  admire  these  Red  men  who  so  seriously 
place  themselves  in  the  attitude  of  their  fore- 
fathers. They  now  play  a  part,  bringing  out  of 
the  misty  past  a  ceremonial  which  in  that  far- 
away time  was  a  reality  fraught  with  momentous 
results,  yet  reproducing  it  with  the  same  reverent 
spirit  which  moved  each  of  the  participants  who 
long  ago  depended  so  vitally  upon  its  efficacy  in 
attracting  the  attention  of  the  gods  to  draw  near 
and  supply  their  needs.  Again  let  us  remember 
that  the  Red  man's  way  is  not  the  White  man's 
way  in  choice  of  symbols  but  the  motive  of  appeal 
to  the  Great  Invisible  is  and  always  has  been  the 
same. 

The  western  sky  grows  refulgent  with  the 
afterglow  of  the  glorious  sun  now  hidden  from 
view ;  the  distant  line  of  mountain  peaks  brightly 
outlined  in  a  golden  light  rises  above  the  great 
bulks  below,  standing  out  like  massive  black 


DAY  WITH  THE  BLACKFEET    187 

walls;  the  fast  gathering  twilight  draws  a  soft 
veil  over  the  scene ;  the  drum-beat  ceases ;  dancers 
and  crowd  vanish  and  we  feel  lonely  when  a  low 
soft  chanting  draws  us  to  the  farther  end  of  the 
oval  where  we  discern  a  group  of  women  en- 
gaged in  the  Scalp  Dance.  We  have  become 
much  interested  in  these  various  dances  and  linger 
to  watch  this  one. 

Two  lines  of  women  each  numbering  fifty  or 
sixty  form,  facing  each  other.  Each  woman 
carries  a  coup-stick  to  which  is  hanging  a  feather 
which  represents  a  scalp.  The  lines  slowly  step 
toward  a  centre,  chanting  in  low  tone  rhythm 
until  they  meet  and  cross  coup-sticks.  This  is 
followed  by  retreating  in  the  same  slow  manner, 
keeping  time  to  the  low  chanting.  We  learn  that 
these  are  the  old  wives  of  old  time  warriors  re- 
producing in  pantomime  the  old  Scalp  Dance  in 
which  they  used  to  take  a  part  and  carried  lances 
ornamented  with  scalps  taken  in  battle  by  their 
warriors. 

The  shadows  of  night  are  fast  gathering  and 
almost  imperceptibly  the  floor  of  heaven  is  lighted 
with  myriads  of  silver  stars  under  the  pale  glow 
of  which  a  circle  of  shadowy  tepees  becomes  vis- 
ible, weird  and  ghostlike.  A  tomtom  beat  now 
here,  now  there,  marks  where  some  gaily  be- 


188    GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

decked  chief  privately  entertains  his  intimate 
friends  as  they  gather  about  his  lodge  fire  in  rem- 
iniscent mood.  We  sit  on  the  grassy  hillside  to 
rest,  drinking  in  the  fresh  mountain  air  while  ever 
and  anon  in  the  silence  of  evening  comes  a  low 
solemn  chanting.  Our  senses  are  keenly  alive  to 
the  rhythm  of  the  music  yet  cannot  fail  to  appre- 
ciate its  underlying  tone  of  savagery.  We  realise 
that  the  Red  man  is  slowly  passing  and  that  ere 
many  decades  the  original  Americans  of  our  con- 
tinent will  have  become  a  memory. 

To  witness  the  sacred  ceremony  of  opening 
the  Medicine  Bundle  is  a  privilege  granted  to 
very  few  white  men.  We  learn  from  one  who 
was  permitted  to  look  upon  this  that  it  is  a  cere- 
monial attended  with  the  utmost  reverence. 

Wrapped  in  skins  the  Medicine  Bundle  hangs 
from  the  lodge  pole  of  the  medicine  camp.  In  the 
bundle  are  the  sacred  emblems  which  for  several 
generations  of  medicine  men  have  been  used  to 
exert  their  magic  power  to  keep  evil  away  and  to 
appeal  to  the  gods  to  favour  their  people.  With 
a  medicine  stick  the  Medicine  Man  places  some 
coals  on  the  ground  before  him,  then,  chanting  a 
prayer  for  protection,  drops  some  Sweet  Grass 
upon  the  medicine  fire  from  which  a  white  sweet- 
smelling  smoke  ascends.  Each  one  present  must 


DAY  WITH  THE  BLACKFEET    189 

be  smoke-bathed,  emblematic  of  purification. 
The  Medicine  Man  then  wafts  the  smoke  toward 
the  Medicine  Bundle  which  he  takes  down  and 
places  in  front  and  a  little  to  his  right  side,  sing- 
ing another  prayer  imploring  the  gods  to  pro- 
tect the  Sacred  Bundle.  The  chanting  becomes 
fainter  and  fainter  as  he  slowly  unwraps  the  em- 
blems which  are  fully  revealed  by  the  dim  flicker 
of  the  lodge  fire.  Having  been  purified  in  the 
smoke,  each  one  may  handle  and  look  at  the  mys- 
terious symbols  while  the  Medicine  Man  explains 
the  power  of  each. 

Here  are  the  skins  of  the  beaver,  the  weasel, 
the  swan,  the  mole,  the  rabbit  and  numerous 
birds;  hoofs  of  the  buffalo,  the  mountain  sheep, 
and  the  mountain  goat;  magic  rattles  made  of 
buffalo  bladder  filled  with  small  pebbles;  medi- 
cine stones ;  skulls  and  teeth  of  different  animals ; 
and  two  medicine  pipes  decorated  with  feathers. 
Each  emblem  has  a  definite  use  and  as  each  is 
used  the  Medicine  Man  dances  and  chants  a  par- 
ticular song  designed  to  finally  attract  the  gods' 
attention. 

After  making  medicine  the  Medicine  Man 
wraps  and  ties  the  precious  bundle  which  to  the 
Indian  mind  is  potent  with  charm  and  mystic  in- 
fluence. The  idea  emphasises,  as  does  the  essence 


190    GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

of  all  religions,  only  the  blind  groping  of  the  hu- 
man soul  for  something  super-human  to  lean 
upon,  only  a  cry  from  the  weak  to  the  strong, 
only  the  reaching  of  the  finite  toward  the  Great 
Infinite. 


CHAPTER  XII 

SOME  BLACKFEET  LEGENDS  AND  INDIAN  NAMES 

THE  oral  literature  of  the  Blackfeet  Indians, 
like  that  of  every  other  primitive  race  of 
men,  contains  interesting  accounts  of  their  origin 
and  early  history.  These  tales  are  in  the  form 
of  verbal  legends  which  have  been  transmitted 
from  one  generation  to  another,  and  frequently 
deal  with  religion,  the  chase,  camp-life,  the  magic 
days  of  the  powerful  Medicine  Men,  individual 
valour,  and  tribal  wars. 

Some  of  these  legends  are  very  ancient,  while 
others  are  of  quite  modern  growth,  but  all  bear 
the  stamp  of  the  beliefs  characteristic  of  a  people 
who  had  a  thousand  gods,  and  who  imagined  that 
they  lived  in  a  world  of  wild  romance.  Curi- 
ously, too,  there  are  many  resemblances  to  stories 
told  among  other  and  distant  tribes. 

The  excellent  translations  of  many  of  these 
poetic  legends,  by  such  writers  and  students  of 
the  Blackfeet  Indians  as  Mr.  George  Bird  Grin- 
nell  and  Mr.  J.  W.  Schultz,  the  discoverer  of  the 

191 


192    GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

literature  of  the  Blackfeet,  give  one  a  true  idea 
of  these  people — picturesque,  mystic,  and  natu- 
ral. These  legends  are  the  Indians'  own  stories, 
giving  pictures  of  their  every-day  life  from  the 
Indian's  viewpoint. 

In  no  respect  are  the  mysticism  and  poetry  of 
the  Blackfeet  brought  out  more  forcibly  than  in 
the  legends  woven  about  many  of  the  landmarks 
of  the  Park.  By  their  association  these  Indians 
have  conferred  upon  the  whole  of  Glacier  Na- 
tional Park  a  wealth  of  historic  and  romantic  in- 
terest. Most  jealously,  however,  do  the  Black- 
feet  guard  the  strange  legends  that  concern 
the  spirit  land  of  the  blue  and  sparkling  St. 
Mary's  Lakes,  Upper  and  Lower,  as  they  are 
designated. 

"Pah-toh-ahk-kee-oh,"  the  Indian  name  for 
these  lakes  and  river,  means  "Good-Spirit- 
Woman"  and  refers  to  St.  Mary  of  the  Catholic 
Church,  in  whose  honour  Hugh  Monroe,  the  vet- 
eran prairie  man,  gave  the  English  name  by 
which  these  bodies  of  water  are  known  to-day. 

There  is  no  legend  connected  with  St.  Mary's* 
Lakes,  but  the  superb  peak,  Going-to-the-Sun, 
undoubtedly  the  finest  peak  in  the  Park,  com- 
memorates the  highly  important  personage  of 
the  Blackfeet— "Sour  Spirit." 


LEGENDS  AND  INDIAN  NAMES     193 

"Person's  Face"  is  the  real  Blackfeet  name 
of" this  mountain;  but  from  an  imperfect  tell- 
ing or  interpretation  of  the  legend  by  the  In- 
dians, or  an  imperfect  understanding  of  it  by 
white  men,  the  name  "Going-to-the-Sun"  origi- 
nated. The  name  should  be  "Mah-tah-pee  O- 
Stook-sis"  on  the  charts  to-day  if  given  in  Indian, 
and  "Person's  Face"  if  given  in  English. 

According  to  the  Indian  lore,  Sour  Spirit  was 
a  great  benevolent  spirit  and  mystic  creator,  who, 
in  the  long  ago,  descended  from  his  Lodge  of  the 
Sun  and  came  to  earth  to  show  the  Blackfeet  how 
to  do  all  things  that  they  needed  for  their  com- 
fort in  daily  life.  He  showed  the  Indians  how 
to  shoot  with  bow  and  arrows ;  how  to  tan  hides ; 
how  to  build  tepees ;  and  how  to  trap  buffalo  in 
the  "pound,"  thus  killing  a  herd  at  a  time.  Sour 
Spirit  had  great  supernal  powers,  and  could  do 
many  magic  and  wonderful  things  with  the  great- 
est ease.  He  returned  to  the  Lodge  of  the  Sun 
when  his  work  of  teaching  was  finished. 

Going-to-the-Sun  Mountain,  when  seen  from 
the  plains  east  of  the  peak,  shows  a  gigantic  face 
on  its  front  like  the  face  on  a  silver  dollar.  This 
stone  face,  the  Indians  say,  is  the  likeness  of  Sour 
Spirit,  who  turned  to  stone  when  his  spirit  re- 
turned to  the  Sun's  Lodge,  and  the  face  on  the 


194    GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

mountain  was  left  for  all  men  to  see  who  may 
doubt  the  story  of  Sour  Spirit  and  his  deeds. 
In  other  words,  Sour  Spirit  in  the  flesh  turned 
to  stone  and  left  his  face  on  the  mountain  to 
show  that  he  had  been  here;  his  spirit  then  re- 
turned to  the  Lodge  of  the  Sun.  Hence  the  In- 
dian name,  Mah-tah-pee  O-Stook-sis  Meh-stuck, 
literally  Person's-face  Mountain,  which  to  the 
Indians  conveys  this  idea: 

Sour  Spirit-Person's  face-who-went-to-the- 
Sun;  or  in  English:  The  face-of-Sour-Spirit- 
who-went-to-the-Sun-after-his-work  -  was  -  done 
Mountain. 

Chief  Mountain,  standing  far  out  to  the  east 
of  the  main  chain  of  the  Rockies,  is  very  abrupt 
and  sharp — a  landmark  visible  for  miles,  and 
an  object  that  would  attract  attention  especially 
of  a  romantic  people  like  the  Blackfeet.  They 
have  woven  the  following  legend  about  it: 

"In  the  old  days  there  was  a  young  man  of 
the  Blackfeet  who  was  noted  for  his  personal 
bravery  in  war.  He  soon  became  a  leader  among 
the  young  men,  and  after  a  time,  a  chief,  and 
then  war-chief  of  one  of  the  big  bands  of  Piegans. 
About  this  time  he  fell  in  love  with  a  girl  of  his 
tribe  and  married  her.  They  were  very  much 
attached  to  each  other  and  the  chief  didn't  take 


LEGENDS  AND  INDIAN  NAMES    195 

any  other  squaw  but  lived  with  only  the  one,  his 
first  wife;  and  after  his  marriage  he  did  not  go 
out  with  the  war  parties  any  more.  Some  time 
later,  one  of  the  Piegan  war  parties  that  went 
from  his  camp  was  cut  to  pieces  by  the  enemy. 
Only  three  or  four  Piegans  came  back  to  tell  the 
tale.  The  Chief  saw  that  something  had  to  be 
done  to  punish  the  enemy  or  his  tribe  must  expect 
to  be  raided  and  have  a  long-drawn-out  war  on 
their  hands ;  so  he  gave  a  great  war  feast  and  in- 
vited all  the  young  men  of  the  tribe. 

"At  the  feast  he  made  a  speech  recounting  the 
damage  done  by  the  enemy  and  pointing  out  that 
many  of  the  tribe  had  lost  friends  and  relatives 
in  the  last  fight.  He  ended  by  saying  that  he 
was  going  on  the  war  path  to  punish  the  offend- 
ers, even  if  he  had  to  go  alone,  and  asked  who 
would  go  with  him.  Thereupon  his  woman  said 
if  he  went  on  the  war  path  she  would  go  along. 
This  he  forbade.  She  in  turn  replied  that  if  he 
went  without  her  he  would  find  a  cold  and  empty 
lodge  when  he  returned  (meaning  she  would  kill 
herself  for  being  left  alone).  He  reasoned  with 
her  but  she  remained  obdurate  for  a  long  time 
but  finally  agreed  that  it  was  best  for  all  that  he 
should  go  and  that  she  should  stay.  So  the  Chief 
went  out  as  the  leader  of  a  big  war  party  that  met 


196     GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

and  whipped  the  enemy;  but  in  the  fight  the 
Chief  was  killed.  His  followers  brought  his  body 
home  to  the  camp  which  was  at  the  foot  of  Chief 
Mountain.  When  his  wife  learned  of  his  death 
she  was  touched  by  the  Great  Spirit  (crazed) 
and  wandered  everywhere  looking  for  her  hus- 
band and  calling  him.  Her  people  watched  and 
cared  for  her  until  one  day  she  slipped  quietly 
away  with  her  baby  and  was  far  up  on  the  side 
of  Chief  Mountain  before  any  one  saw  her.  Run- 
ners were  sent  after  her  but  she  was  too  fleet  and 
gained  the  top  where  she  signalled  to  the  camp 
in  sign  language  that  she  had  found  her  man  and 
was  going  with  him  and  that  the  camp  should  not 
try  to  follow  her.  Then  she  threw  the  child  far 
from  her  out  over  the  awful  cliff  that  forms  the 
face  of  Chief  Mountain  and  then  she,  too,  leaped 
over  the  precipice  to  the  rocks,  thousands  of  feet 
below.  She  was  buried  with  her  baby  where  they 
fell,  and  her  people  brought  her  Chief  and  buried 
him  beside  her.  The  mountain  was  called  from 
that  time  on  'Min-now  Stah-koo,'  The  'Moun- 
tain-of-the-Chief  or  'Chief  Mountain,'  as  it  is 
called  to-day." 

The  Two  Medicine  country  is  rich  in  Piegan 
legendary  lore.  The  name  originated  long  ago 
when  two  large  bands  of  Blackfeet  Indians  met 


LEGENt)S  AND  INDIAN  NAMES    197 

near  these  two  lakes,  each  band  intending  to  hold 
the  medicine  lodge  ceremonies  which  were  of  a 
religious  nature  wherein  help  and  prosperity 
were  asked  of  the  sun  and  the  gods.  When  the 
two  bands  learned  that  they  had  come  for  the 
same  purpose,  they  camped  together  and  the  cere- 
monies of  the  two  lodges  were  conducted  at  the 
same  time  and  place. 

The  Indian  name  for  Two  Medicine  is  "Naht- 
oh-kee-oh-kahss  O-mock-sick-i-mee"  (lake)  and 
the  following  legend  is  recorded: 

"Many  years  ago  there  was  a  famine  in  the 
land  of  the  Blackfeet.  In  all  their  vast  country, 
extending  from  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  Hudson 
Bay,  vegetation  was  practically  dead  except  in 
the  valley  that  is  now  called  'Two  Medicine.' 
Even  the  buffaloes  had  left  their  haunts  and  gone 
to  new  plains,  and  all  other  game  had  disap- 
peared, so  that  the  Indians  had  nothing  to  eat 
except  mountain  berries. 

"The  famine  became  so  great  that  the  old  men 
of  the  tribe  withdrew  to  the  Medicine  Valley  and 
built  two  Medicine  Lodges  because  of  the  great 
need.  Here  they  worshipped  the  Great  Spirit 
and  prayed  for  deliverance  from  the  great  fam- 
ine. The  Great  Spirit,  upon  hearing  their  peti- 
tion, told  them  to  send  seven  of  their  oldest  and 


198    GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

wisest  men  to  Chief  Mountain — the  home  of  the 
Wind  God. 

"Upon  being  directed  in  this  manner,  seven  of 
the  patriarchs  of  the  tribe  left  the  two  lodges 
and  proceeded  to  Chief  Mountain  where  dwelt 
the  great  Wind  God.  They  saw  him  as  he  stood 
on  the  mountain  top  with  his  great  wings  spread 
and  extending  far  over  the  valleys.  They 
watched  him  as  he  with  quivering  wings  faced 
north,  east,  south,  and  west.  From  afar  the  old 
men  watched  him,  but  they  were  filled  with  a 
great  fear  and  dared  not  approach  near  to  him 
to  make  their  prayer.  Disappointed  and  after 
many  hardships,  they  returned  to  their  people 
empty-handed. 

"The  medicine  men  now  ordered  fourteen  of 
the  bravest  and  strongest  of  the  young  men  of  the 
tribe  to  go  and  plead  with  the  Wind  God.  At 
first  these  young  warriors,  too,  were  afraid  when 
they  reached  Chief  Mountain  and  saw  the  Wind 
God;  but  gradually  their  terror  left  them  and 
they  approached  nearer  and  nearer,  until  they 
touched  the  garments  of  skins  that  he  wore.  The 
Wind  God  listened  to  their  prayer  and  then  as 
his  wings  quivered  from  time  to  time,  dark 
clouds  gathered  over  the  land  and  the  rain  fell 
in  torrents.  By  extending  one  of  his  wings  far 


LEGENDS  AND  INDIAN  NAMES    199 

over  the  plains,  he  directed  the  young  men  to  the 
place  where  the  buffaloes  were. 

"Great  was  the  rejoicing  in  the  medicine  lodges 
when  the  young  warriors  returned,  and  the  days 
of  the  great  famine  had  passed.  In  memory  of 
the  two  medicine  lodges  that  were  built  there 
to  the  Great  Spirit  in  the  time  of  the  great 
famine,  the  valley  was  ever  after  called  'The  Val- 
ley of  the  Two  Medicine.'  " 

Rising  Wolf  Mountain  on  the  north  shore  of 
Two  Medicine  Lake  was  named  by  the  Black- 
feet  in  honour  of  Hugh  Monroe,  a  white  Scotch- 
French  employe  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company 
who  settled  among  the  Indians  in  1815  and  was 
the  first  white  man  in  Montana.  Hugh  Monroe 
was  adopted  into  the  Blackfeet  tribe  and  became 
a  "squaw"  man  by  marrying  a  Blackfoot  woman. 
He  raised  a  family  and  lived  all  his  life  with  their 
people.  A  number  of  his  descendants  still  live  on 
the  Blackfeet  Reservation. 

Hugh  Monroe  was  called  "Muck-qua-ee-poh- 
wock-sin,"  meaning  "Rising  Wolf,"  by  the 
Blackfeet,  from  his  habit  of  rising  quickly  on 
his  hands  when  awakened  from  sleep,  just  as  a 
wolf  does  under  the  same  circumstances.  It  is 
told  that  he  also  "slept  like  a  wolf"  because  he 
never  slept  soundly  but  appeared  to  be  always 


200    GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

"listening  and  watching"  while  he  slept,  just  as 
a  wolf  does,  so  that  no  one  could  ever  get  near 
him  and  catch  him  in  his  sleep.  The  name  "Ris- 
ing Wolf"  which  conveyed  the  idea  of  "The-man- 
who-sleeps-and-rises-from-blanket-like  -  a  -  wolf" 
was  given  to  Hugh  Monroe  by  the  Blackfeet. 

At  the  time  that  Monroe  was  among  the  In- 
dians the  peaks  were  un-named  by  white  men, 
and  the  peak  now  known  as  "Rising  Wolf" 
(9,270  feet)  was  supposed  to  be  the  highest. 
Monroe  once  spoke  of  it  as  such  and  expressed 
the  wish  that  this  peak  should  bear  his  name.  The 
Indians  complied  with  his  wish  and  the  mountain 
has  ever  since  been  called  "Rising  Wolf,"  the 
name  in  the  Indian  mind  commemorating  their 
old  time  friend,  Hugh  Monroe,  who  "became  a 
Blackfoot"  and  "who  slept  and  got  up  quick  on 
his  hands  like  a  wolf." 

Throughout  the  Park  the  Blackfeet  Indians, 
one-time  proprietors,  have  named  the  rivers,  lakes 
and  mountain  peaks  in  their  own  picturesque  lan- 
guage. The  following  list  of  Indian  names  with 
their  original  meaning  and  facts  of  interest  applies 
to  those  features  that  are  generally  accessible  to 
the  tourist — the  English  name  being  given  first, 
then  the  phonetic  Indian  name  and  the  transla- 
tion as  literal  as  can  be  rendered  in  English: 


LEGENDS  AND  INDIAN  NAMES    201 

Two  Medicine  River: 

Naht-oh-kee-oh-kahss      Nay-a-tah-tah 
(Two  Medicine  River) 

Legend  given. 

Two  Medicine  Lakes: 

Naht-oh-kee-oh-kahss       O-mock-sick-i-mee 
(Two  Medicine  Lake) 

Rising  Wolf  Mountain: 

Muck-qua-ee-poh-wock-sin    Meh-stuck 
(Rising  Wolf  Mountain) 

Legend  given. 

Cut  Bank  River: 

Poh-nah-kee-eeks  Nay-a-tah-tah 

( Cuts-into-the-white-clay-bank-places  River) 

This  name  was  originally  given  to  one  particu- 
lar place  on  the  stream  east  of  Browning,  where 
the  river  always  undermined  and  cut  into  a  bank 
of  white  clay.  The  Indian  spoke  of  the  stream 
as  "the  river  that  cuts  into  the  white  clay  bank," 
associating  the  stream  with  the  cut  bank  where 
the  clay  was  cut  by  the  stream.  Free  transla- 
tion of  this  idea  by  the  whites  fixed  the  name 
and  meaning  to  the  stream  itself  rather  than  to 
one  spot  on  it.  Naturally  it  became,  "Cut  Bank 
River,"  which  is  a  nearly  correct  meaning  of  the 
old  Indian  name  of  "Poh-nah-kee-eeks." 


202     GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

Triple  Divide  Peak: 

Nee-oak-shah-sis-sahk-tah      Meh-stuck 
( Water-flows-three-ways       Mountain ) 

This  name  is  purely  descriptive  from  the  fact 
that  from  the  summit  the  tourist  (if  he  be  a 
mountain  climber)  may  dip  up  a  cupful  of  water 
and  start  it  on  three  journeys:  by  Red  Eagle 
Creek  to  the  Arctic  Ocean;  by  Nyack  Creek  to 
the  Pacific  Ocean;  and  by  Cut  Bank  River  to 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 

The  belief  is  that  the  English  name  is  a  free 
translation  of  the  Blackfoot  name. 

St.  Mary's  River: 

Pah-toh-ahk-kee-oh        Nay-ah-tah-tah 
( Good-  Spirit- Woman    River ) 
No  legend. 

St.  Mary's  Lake: 

Pah-toh-ahk-kee-oh          O-mock-sick-i-mee 
(Good-Spirit-Woman      Lake) 
No  legend. 

Going-t o-tlie-Sun  Mountain : 

Mah-tah-pee  Oh-stook-sis 

(Person's  Face) 

Meh-stuck 

(Mountain) 

Legend  given. 


LEGENDS  AND  INDIAN  NAMES    203 

Single  Shot  Mountain: 

Tohk-scum-sco-nock-ky          Meh-stuck 
(Single  shot  or  shoot  once    Mountain) 

This  mountain  is  on  the  northwest  shore  of 
St.  Mary's  Lake.  The  Indians  had  no  name  for 
it;  but  Mr.  George  Bird  Grinnell  applied  the 
English  name  because  he  killed  a  mountain  goat 
there  with  a  single  shot.  The  Indian  name  is  a 
translation  into  Blackfoot  of  the  white  man's 
name. 

Goat  Mountain: 

Ah-poh-much-a-kin  Meh-stuck 

(Goat  Mountain) 

This  name  is  not  particularly  descriptive,  as 
all  the  steep,  sharp,  and  rock  mountains  of  this 
region  are  inhabited  by  goats.  The  Indian  name 
is  the  Blackfoot  translation  of  the  white  man's 
"Goat  Mountain." 

Red  Eagle  Mountain: 

Macht-ch-chee-pee-tow  Meh-stuck 

(Red  Eagle  Mountain) 

This  peak  on  the  south  shore  of  St.  Mary's 
Lake  was  named  after  Chief  Red  Eagle  of  the 
Blackfeet  tribe. 


Little  Chief  Mountain: 

Oh-muck-see-now  Meh-stuck 

(Little  Chief  Mountain) 

No  legend. 

Divide  Mountain: 

Meh-stuck  Nay-a-tah-tah   Not-oh-kim 

Icht-tow-wow-wah-kah 
(Mountain-that-the-rivers-divide-in-two- 
ways) 

The  name  is  purely  descriptive  and  it  is  the 
original  Indian  name  which  has  been  translated 
into  English. 

Almost  A  Dog  Mountain: 

Pist-cooey-e-mee-tah  Meh-stuck 

(Almost-a-dog  Mountain) 

This  mountain,  standing  at  the  head  of  St. 
Mary's  Lake,  was  named  after  a  Blackfoot  In- 
dian Chief. 

Ulackfoot  Mountain: 

Six-see-ky  Chee-tahp-pee      Meh-stuck 
(Blackfeet-people  Mountain) 

As  the  name  suggests,  this  mountain  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  Gunsight  Chalets  was  named  for 
the  Blackfoot  Tribe.  The  great  glacier  of  the 
same  name  was  named  so  for  the  same  reason. 


LEGENDS  AND  INDIAN  NAMES    205 

Gunsight  Pass: 

A-socht-co-mah-chiss   Ky-ee-kim-icht-cooey 
(Gunsight  Gap) 

No  legend.  The  Blackfoot  name  is  a  transla- 
tion of  the  English  name. 

Appe  Kunny  Mountain: 

Abb-bee-kun-ny         Meh-stuck 
( S  cabby-face  Mountain ) 

The  name  of  this  mountain  was  given  by  Mr. 
George  Bird  Grinnell  in  honour  of  J.  W.  Schultz 
who  came  to  Fort  Benton  as  a  boy  and  who  later 
married  a  Blackfoot  woman.  He  lived  with  the 
Indians  many  years.  Mr.  Grinnell  was  at  one 
time  agent  for  the  Blackfeet  and  became  well 
acquainted  with  Mr.  Schultz  who  went  hunting 
with  him  several  times  up  in  the  St.  Mary's  Lake 
region  where  this  mountain  is  situated.  Mr. 
Schultz  was  called  "Appe  Kunny"  (Scabby- 
face)  by  the  Blackfeet,  and  on  one  of  their  hunt- 
ing trips  Mr.  Grinnell  named  this  peak  after 
him. 

Swift  Current  River: 

Kah-moak-skah-see  Nay-a-tah-tah 

( Swift-flowing  water  River ) 

A  purely  descriptive  name. 


206    GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

Heaven's  Peak: 

Ahp-pay-stuht-oak-ky  Oh-chit-tow-pihp 

Meh-stuck 
(The  maker  where  he  lives  Mountain) 

The   name   is   the  Blackfoot   for  "Heaven's 
Mountain." 

Trapper  Peak: 

Aht-kyaht-kee  Meh-stuck 

(Trapper  Mountain) 

Chief  Mountain: 

Nin-now  Stah-Koo 

(Chief  Mountain) 

Legend  given. 

Iceberg  Lake: 

Koh-koht-Tooey    Ah-py-ace-sooey-yee 

O-mock-sick-i-mee 
(Ice  floating  around  in  Lake) 

A  purely  descriptive  name. 
No  legend. 

Goathaunt  Mountain: 

Oat-sit-tah-ky-ip  Ah-poh-mock-kih-kin 

Meh-stuck 
(Plenty-of -goats      on      Mountain) 

No  legend. 


LEGENDS  AND  INDIAN  NAMES    207 

Willow  Creek: 

Oh-cheap-pee  Ass-ee-tah-tah 

(Gray  willow  little  river) 

A  descriptive  name  given  to  the  little  creek 
which  flows  through  the  town  of  Browning. 

Avalanche  Basin: 

Coney-owahk-ah  O-chits-kin-nee  Meh-stuck 
(Snow-slide        basin-on-the    mountain) 
Descriptive  Blackfeet  name.    No  legend. 

Sweetgrass  Hills: 

Sah-pots-ee-moo  Meh-stuck 

( S  weetgrass  Mountain ) 

These  hills  were  so  named  in  Indian  because 
of  the  quantities  of  the  "S weetgrass"  that  grow 
near  the  base.  "Sweetgrass"  besides  being  used 
in  weaving  baskets  is  used  in  "making  medicine" 
by  all  tribes  as  an  incense  offering. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

BLACKFEET    HISTORICAL   PICTOGRAPHS 

NOTE:  The  Indian  picture  paintings  on 
canvases  which  have  been  placed  in  the 
Many  Glacier  Hotel  represent  the  work  of 
Blackfeet  and  South  Piegan  Indian  Chiefs.  The 
Indians,  whose  lives  are  pictured  on  the  canvas 
which  is  placed  in  the  dining  hall,  are  the  oldest 
living  chiefs  of  the  Piegans.  They  painted  their 
own  histories  and  interpreted  them  through  one 
of  their  number  who  spoke  both  the  Piegan  and 
English  tongues.  The  canvas  which  is  placed  in 
the  lobby  was  painted  by  Blackfeet  Indians. 
This  canvas  is  divided  into  sections  and  each  sec- 
tion represents  the  life  history  of  the  Indian  who 
painted  it.  The  interpretations  were  made  by 
Eagle  Calf,  a  well-known  Indian  character  of 
Glacier  National  Park.  Interpretation  of  his- 
torical pictographs  made  by  South  Piegan  In- 
dian Chiefs: 

Chief  Little  Dog:    Little  Dog  is  now  seventy- 
five  years  old  and  is  one  of  the  most  respected 

208 


BLACKFEET  PICTOGRAPHS    209 

men  in  his  tribe.  During  his  youth  he  won  great 
renown  as  a  fighter  and  horse  thief.  He  counted 
his  first  coup  when  he  was  a  lad  of  nineteen  years. 
He  and  an  older  Indian  were  out  after  buffalo 
when  they  came  across  a  small  party  of  Sioux, 
consisting  of  two  men  and  two  squaws.  Little 
Dog  and  his  friend  challenged  the  Sioux  and 
the  Sioux  showed  fight.  Both  the  women  and 
one  of  the  Sioux  were  killed;  the  other  escaped. 
Little  Dog  got  away  with  his  first  prize  horse. 
This  is  shown  on  the  upper  right  hand  corner 
of  the  first  section  of  the  canvas.  Below  is  shown 
an  attack  made  at  night  upon  a  party  of  Flat- 
heads.  The  Flatheads  were  driving  home  some 
horses  and  had  stopped  to  camp  over  night.  Lit- 
tle Dog  waited  until  they  had  gone  to  sleep  and 
then  went  into  the  camp  and  drove  out  the  horses. 
All  the  Flatheads  were  killed.  One  of  them  put 
up  a  strong  fight  and  was  shot  three  times  be- 
fore he  was  killed.  In  this  raid  Little  Dog  took 
ten  head  of  horses. 

In  the  centre  of  the  picture  is  shown  a  battle 
with  Grovons.  The  Grovons  were  encamped 
near  the  Missouri  River.  Their  camps  consisted 
of  five  lodges.  The  Piegans  were  large  in  num- 
ber. They  drove  the  enemy  into  a  coulee  and 
got  away  with  two  beautiful  pintos.  Little  Dog 


210    GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

is  shown  in  the  act  of  cutting  loose  the  pintos 
during  the  fight.  Above  are  shown  eight  of  his 
party  who  were  killed  in  this  fight.  Their  guns 
are  shown  to  the  left.  In  the  lower  centre  Lit- 
tle Dog  and  three  companions  are  shown  in  an- 
other fight  with  the  Flatheads.  The  Flatheads 
were  driving  some  horses  when  Little  Dog  and 
his  friends  saw  them  from  the  top  of  a  hill.  The 
two  Flatheads  got  off  their  horses  and  ran  for  a 
coulee.  One  of  them  was  overtaken  and  shot 
and  the  other  was  killed  later. 

In  the  upper  left  hand  corner  are  shown  four- 
teen head  of  horses  and  one  black  mule  taken 
from  the  Grovons.  Below  are  shown  eight  head 
of  horses  and  one  mule  taken  in  one  raid  on  the 
Chippewas.  In  the  lower  left  hand  corner  Lit- 
tle Dog  pictures  two  fights  he  had  with  the  Sioux 
when  he  was  a  young  man.  In  the  first  he  was 
single-handed  against  a  single  Sioux  on  a  black 
horse.  He  killed  both  horse  and  rider.  In  the 
other  fight  he  had  a  companion  when  they  ran 
onto  two  Sioux  Indians.  He  was  shot  in  the 
hand  in  this  fight,  but  both  he  and  his  friend  es- 
caped, leaving  the  Sioux  dead.  A  little  to  the 
right  of  the  lower  centre  Little  Dog  is  shown 
counting  coup  on  the  head  of  a  Flathead  woman. 

Mountain  Chief  is  now  eighty  years  old.    He 


BLACKFEET  PICTOGRAPHS    211 

states  that  most  of  the  events  of  his  life  which 
he  has  pictured  took  place  between  sixty  and 
thirty  years  ago.  His  most  important  fights  were 
against  the  Sioux  Inri^us.  In  the  upper  right 
hand  corner  he  is  shown  leading  the  attack 
against  a  party  of  that  tribe  who  were  camping 
near  Lethbridge.  To  the  left  of  that  is  shown 
another  fight  with  the  Sioux  in  which  the  whole 
party  of  Sioux  were  killed.  In  the  left  upper 
centre  of  the  section  Mountain  Chief  pictures  an 
event  which  occurred  on  the  Lethbridge  River 
about  forty  years  ago.  A  white  man  had  a  house 
on  the  river  and  was  friendly  with  the  Piegans. 
Mountain  Chief  was  there  one  day  when  they 
were  attacked  by  some  Kootenais.  Mountain 
Chief  and  his  friends  got  into  a  boat  and  tried 
to  cross  the  river,  but  one  of  the  Kootenais 
grabbed  him  by  the  hair  and  pulled  him  out. 
The  Kootenais  took  him  prisoner  and  made  him 
ride  double  on  one  of  their  horses  to  the  Koo- 
tenais' Camp.  The  Chief  of  the  band  of  Koo- 
tenais was  Old  Wolf  Coming  Up.  He  was  a 
good  man  and  he  became  friendly  with  Mountain 
Chief  and  after  entertaining  him  for  three  weeks 
he  gave  him  a  horse  and  supplies  and  made  him 
many  presents  and  let  him  go  back  to  his  people. 


212    GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

For  a  long  time  after  that  there  was  peace  be- 
tween the  Kootenais  and  the  Piegans. 

The  next  group  to  the  left  shows  Mountain 
Chief  leading  a  party  of  Piegans  to  war.  To 
the  left  of  that  shows  him  and  another  Piegan  in 
an  attempted  raid  upon  a  small  encampment  of 
Sioux.  He  was  driven  into  a  hole  and  his  friend 
was  killed  but  Mountain  Chief  escaped  unin- 
jured. The  next  picture  shows  a  fight  with 
some  Flatheads  in  which  Mountain  Chief  took 
part  when  he  was  only  nineteen  years  old.  He 
claimed  that  three  of  his  party  were  killed  while 
ten  of  the  Flathead  scalps  were  taken.  In  the 
upper  left  hand  corner  is  (the  Flathead  scalps) 
shown  a  large  battle  with  the  Sioux.  The  latter 
took  refuge  in  a  big  hole  or  coulee.  The  fight 
lasted  from  sunrise  to  sunset  and  when  it  began 
to  grow  dark  the  few  Sioux  who  were  left  at- 
tempted to  run  out  to  safety.  Mountain  Chief 
is  seen  chasing  two  of  them.  One  he  caught  and 
taking  his  spear  away  from  him  killed  him  with 
it.  The  other  he  caught  by  the  hair  and  stabbed 
him  in  the  head.  In  the  centre  of  the  picture  are 
seen  trophies  taken  by  Mountain  Chief  in  the 
big  battle  with  the  Sioux.  The  lower  part  of 
the  section  shows  Mountain  Chief  leading  a  party 
of  Piegans  on  horseback  to  war  against  a  band 


BLACKFEET  PICTOGRAPHS    213 

of  Grovons.  This  happened  near  the  Bear  Paw 
Mountains.  Chief  Little  Dog  was  with  Moun- 
tain Chief  in  this  fight  and  was  wounded.  Sev- 
eral of  the  Piegans  were  killed  but  the  Grovons 
were  all  killed.  In  the  centre  of  the  section 
Mountain  Chief  is  shown  running  over  a  Grovon 
Indian  and  counting  coup  on  him.  To  the  right 
of  that  is  shown  a  fight  with  Crees  in  the  Sweet 
Grass  Hills.  Above  is  shown  Mountain  Chief 
mounted  on  a  beautiful  black  mare.  This  horse 
was  shot  from  under  him  by  the  Chief  of  the 
Crees,  but  Mountain  Chief  managed  to  get  away 
safely. 

Mad  Plume:  The  centre  of  the  third  section 
shows  a  fight  between  the  Piegans  against  the 
Chippewas  and  Crees  together.  The  Piegans 
had  stolen  horses  from  both  these  tribes  and  they 
were  bitter  enemies.  Both  the  leaders  of  the 
Chippewas  and  the  Crees  were  killed.  To  the 
right  is  shown  a  Piegan  Camp  surrounded  by 
Sioux.  Mad  Plume  is  shown  above  in  red  paint 
and  the  Chief  of  the  Sioux  is  in  black.  The  Pie- 
gans killed  many  of  the  Sioux  and  kept  them 
from  stealing  their  horses.  To  the  left  of  the  sec- 
tion is  shown  a  band  of  horses  stolen  in  one  raid 
upon  the  Chippewas.  To  the  lower  right  of  the 
section  shows  an  attack  made  by  a  party  of  As- 


214    GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

siniboines  upon  four  Piegans  on  horseback.  The 
two  parties  were  about  a  hundred  yards  apart. 
Mad  Plume  was  shot  in  this  fight  but  he  killed 
a  number  of  the  Assiniboines  and  escaped. 

Wolf  Eagle:  Wolf  Eagle  is  now  sixty-seven 
years  old.  He  first  went  to  war  when  he  was 
seventeen.  In  the  centre  of  the  section  he  is 
shown  in  a  fight  which  occurred  thirty-one  years 
ago  between  the  Sioux  and  the  Piegans.  The 
four  figures  in  black  are  four  Sioux  killed  by 
Wolf  Eagle,  who  is  pictured  in  yellow  with  a 
horse.  In  the  lower  right  hand  corner  the  Pie- 
gans are  shown  fighting  the  Crows  from  behind 
a  hill.  Wolf  Eagle  is  pictured  in  yellow.  A 
large  number  of  Crow  Indians  were  killed  in 
this  fight  and  the  rest  ran  away.  Above  is  shown 
another  fight  with  the  Crows.  The  Crows  were 
in  a  coulee  and  were  attacked  by  a  large  number 
of  Piegans.  A  number  of  the  Crows  were  killed 
and  the  remainder  are  shown  running  away. 
Wolf  Eagle  is  shown  killing  a  woman  and  two 
children  who  were  left  behind.  In  the  right  cen- 
tre of  the  picture  is  shown  a  fight  with  the  Gro- 
vons.  Wolf  Eagle  is  shown  in  a  hand  to  hand 
encounter  with  the  leader  of  the  Grovons,  whose 
scalp  he  took.  In  the  upper  centre  of  the  pic- 
ture Wolf  Eagle  is  shown  on  his  famous  "Crazy 


BLACKFEET  PICTOGRAPHS    215 

Horse,"  so  called  because  he  seemed  to  have  a 
charmed  life.  He  belonged  to  a  number  of 
Blackfeet  Indians,  and  at  one  time  was  in  the 
possession  of  Wolf  Eagle.  He  was  very  long 
winded  and  saved  the  lives  of  many  Piegans  in 
battle.  Above  is  shown  Wolf  Eagle  in  a  fight 
with  a  grizzly  bear.  Wolf  Eagle  jumped  on  the 
bear's  back  and  killed  it  with  his  knife.  In  the 
lower  left  hand  corner  is  shown  a  fight  which  oc- 
curred about  thirty  years  ago  in  the  Sweet  Grass 
Hills.  Wolf  Eagle  is  shown  on  a  horse  leading 
the  Piegans  against  the  Grovons  who  were  hid- 
ing behind  rocks  in  the  hills.  In  this  fight  Wolf 
Eagle  lost  his  right  arm.  To-day  he  carries  the 
bone  out  of  his  arm  as  an  ornament.  He  has  it 
decorated  with  feathers  and  at  times  he  uses  it  as 
a  whip  stock.  He  is  very  proud  of  it,  but  he  has 
not  done  much  fighting  since  he  lost  his  arm. 

Black  Boy:  Black  Boy  is  now  eighty  years 
old  and  is  quite  deaf.  He  has  the  reputation 
among  his  tribesmen  of  being  a  very  adventure- 
some Indian.  When  he  was  twenty-six  years  old 
his  first  great  fight  occurred.  This  is  pictured 
in  the  lower  left  hand  corner  of  the  section.  A 
large  party  of  Chippewas  were  camped  on  one 
of  the  buttes  of  the  Sweet  Grass  Hills.  They 
were  having  a  celebration  and  were  gathered 


216    GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

around  a  fire,  dancing,  when  the  Piegans  came 
upon  them.  Black  Boy  was  the  possessor  of  a 
telescope.  He  climbed  the  hill,  and,  looking 
through  the  telescope,  found  out  the  number 
of  the  Chippewas.  They  waited  until  night 
and  then  Black  Boy  went  into  the  Camp  and 
cut  loose  all  their  horses  and  drove  them 
out.  In  the  centre  of  the  section  is  shown  a 
Piegan  Camp.  To  the  right  are  some  white 
soldiers  with  whom  Black  Boy  made  peace 
and  welcomed  them  to  his  camp.  Above  are 
pictured  his  exploits  with  a  bear  which  he  had 
a  hard  time  killing.  Below  is  shown  a  Grovon 
badge.  Black  Boy  went  to  this  lodge  to  steal  the 
horses  and  was  frightened  by  a  dog,  who  woke 
the  camp.  He  shot  the  dog  and  two  Grovon  In- 
dians and  got  away  with  two  horses  and  two 
beautiful  war  bonnets.  In  the  upper  right  hand 
corner  he  pictures  his  prowess  in  buffalo  hunting. 
Below  the  buffalo  pictures  he  pictures  himself 
and  his  squaw  out  on  a  cold  winter  day  when 
they  drove  a  bear  out  of  his  hole  in  a  tree.  In 
the  lower  right  hand  corner  he  shows  horses 
stolen  from  different  tribes. 

Big  Moon :  Big  moon  is  now  fifty-seven  years 
old.  The  events  in  this  section  happened  when 
he  was  near  the  age  of  forty-three.  He  is  repre- 


BLACKFEET  PICTOGRAPHS    217 

sented  through  the  pictograph  with  a  moon  over 
his  head.  In  the  upper  right  hand  corner  are 
shown  the  Sweet  Grass  Hills,  the  Mission  River 
and  a  Sioux  and  Cree  Camp.  The  Sioux  and  Cree 
horses  were  picketed  near  the  Camp,  and  Big 
Moon  and  two  of  his  friends,  both  of  whom  are 
dead  now,  went  up  to  the  Camp,  cut  the  horses 
loose  and  ran  them  away.  In  the  upper  left  hand 
corner  he  pictures  a  fight  with  a  party  of  Sioux 
in  which  he  killed  the  Chief.  In  the  lower  left 
hand  corner  he  shows  a  fight  which  he  and  his 
brother  had  with  some  Grovons.  His  brother's 
horse  was  killed  and  Big  Moon  saved  his  life  by 
taking  him  on  his  own  horse  and  riding  double. 
In  the  centre  of  the  section  is  shown  a  lodge 
which  Big  Moon  dreamed  and  afterward  built. 
To  the  left  of  that  is  shown  a  Medicine  Lodge 
which  he  built  in  payment  of  a  vow  made  to  the 
Great  Spirit  when  he  was  in  danger  in  battle. 
The  circle  in  the  right  hand  corner  represents  a 
Sioux  Encampment.  Big  Moon  went  into  this 
Camp  and  stole  a  beautiful  pinto  mare  after  a 
hand-to-hand  fight  with  Chief  Red  Cloud.  To 
the  right  are  shown  the  marks  indicating  the  num- 
ber of  his  successful  horse-stealing  raids.  Below 
is  shown  Buffalo  Hill  near  Bear  Creek.  To  the 
left  of  the  lower  right  hand  corner  Big  Moon  de- 


218    GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

scribes  a  fight  with  the  Cheyennes.  He  went 
into  the  Camp  to  steal  horses  and  the  Cheyenne 
tried  to  shoot  him.  Big  Moon  took  his  gun  away 
from  him  and  knocked  the  Cheyenne  down  with 
the  butt  of  it  and  jumped  on  his  horse  and  ran 
away.  Below  his  lodge  he  shows  a  quirt  stolen 
from  the  Grovons.  The  three  marks  represent 
sixty  horses  stolen  from  different  tribes. 

Buffalo  Body:  Chief  Buffalo  Body  is  fifty- 
five  years  old.  He  went  to  war  when  he  was 
twenty. 

In  the  lower  left  hand  corner  of  this  section 
is  represented  an  incident  in  the  life  of  Buffalo 
Body  that  proved  him  to  be  a  brave  man.  He 
was  travelling  through  the  country  with  a  party 
of  his  people  when  they  came  to  a  river  and  saw 
what  they  thought  was  a  large  band  of  Sioux. 
His  people  ran  and  hid  behind  the  big  rock 
shown  in  yellow,  but  he  advanced  as  a  scout  to 
see  who  the  party  were,  and  fortunately  found 
them  to  be  another  band  of  his  own  people.  In 
the  upper  left  hand  corner  Buffalo  Body  tells 
about  meeting  with  a  small  party  of  Sioux.  The 
Piegans  had  more  men  than  the  Sioux,  and  the 
Sioux  Chief,  believing  it  well  not  to  fight,  came 
up  to  shake  hands  with  Buffalo  Body.  Buffalo 
Body  shook  his  hand,  but  at  the  same  time  took 


BLACKFEET  PICTOGRAPHS    219 

his  gun  away  from  him  and  stole  the  Sioux 
horses.  To  the  right  of  this  story,  Buffalo  Body 
shows  himself  and  his  brother  and  a  tribesman 
going  into  a  Chippewa  camp  at  night.  In  this 
raid  they  stole  six  horses.  The  two  lower  cir- 
cles of  tepees  are  encampments  of  Chippewas 
and  Crees.  The  two  tribes  were  friendly  and 
were  having  a  celebration.  While  the  dancing 
was  going  on  Buffalo  Body  came  up  alone,  un- 
tied a  beautiful  horse,  on  which  he  is  seen  above 
the  tepees,  and  made  away  with  it.  Above  are 
th'e  Lodges  of  Buffalo  Body.  He  had  wonder- 
ful power  as  a  Medicine  Man.  The  otter  skin 
which  signified  good  medicine  was  his  flag.  The 
Elk  Lodges  also  belonged  to  him.  Below  and 
in  the  right  hand  corner  are  shown  his  garments, 
his  flag  and  his  wonderful  Buffalo  or  Medicine 
Ring.  The  Indians  worshipped  a  stone  they 
called  the  Buffalo  stone,  which  was  supposed  to 
bring  them  good  luck,  and  this  Medicine  Ring 
of  Buffalo  Body  was  made  of  these  stones. 

Calf  Tail:  At  present  Calf  Tail  is  sixty  years 
old  and  he  is  blind.  His  friends  helped  him  to 
paint  and  interpret  his  history.  The  most  event- 
ful time  of  his  life  he  says  was  when  he  was  about 
twenty-five  years  old.  The  lower  left  hand  cor- 
ner shows  his  lodge  and  Medicine  Pipe.  Above 


is  represented  a  fight  he  and  Little  Dog  had  with 
some  Sioux.  The  Sioux  would  have  killed  Chief 
Little  Dog,  but  Calf  Tail  shot  the  Sioux  and 
saved  Little  Dog.  To  the  right  is  shown  Calf 
Tail  with  three  horses  taken  from  the  Flatheads. 
In  the  upper  right  hand  corner  Calf  Tail  pic- 
tures a  Cheyenne  Camp.  He  is  shown  here  with 
a  party  of  Piegans,  Little  Dog  in  the  lead.  They 
drove  all  the  Cheyenne  horses  out  of  this  camp, 
and  they  are  seen  below  driving  them  home. 
One  of  the  Piegans  was  left  behind,  and  would 
have  been  killed  had  not  Calf  Tail  risked  his 
life  to  go  back  after  him.  He  went  back,  picked 
up  his  tribesman,  and  they  rode  double  to  safety. 
Big  Spring:  Big  Spring  is  a  comparatively 
young  man;  yet  in  his  day  he  was  noted  for  his 
prowess  as  a  horse  thief.  At  the  present  time 
he  is  one  of  the  largest  horse  owners  among  the 
Blackfeet  Indians.  In  the  upper  right  hand  cor- 
ner is  shown  an  attack  made  upon  Big  Spring 
by  some  Crows,  who  were  hiding  in  the  bushes. 
Big  Spring  shot  one  of  them  and  stabbed  the 
other  with  a  spear.  His  horses  are  shown  pick- 
eted above.  Below  is  shown  a  raid  he  and  some 
friends  made  upon  the  Grovons.  He  drove  them 
away,  but  did  not  get  their  horses  that  time.  In 
the  centre  he  shows  the  fight  in  which  his  brother 


BLACKFEET  PICTOGRAPHS    221 

was  killed.  Big  Spring  himself  entered  the  cor- 
ral, which  belonged  to  the  Cheyennes,  and  drove 
out  all  their  horses.  In  the  upper  right  hand 
corner  he  is  shown  with  his  brother  stealing 
horses  from  the  Flatheads.  Below  he  shows  an 
incident  which  occurred  only  a  few  years  ago 
near  his  present  home  on  the  reservation.  His 
wife  and  himself  were  out  when  they  ran  across 
an  elk.  He  let  his  wife  have  his  gun  and  she  shot 
the  elk.  In  the  lower  left  hand  side  of  the  pic- 
ture he  shows  his  lodges.  One  of  them  was 
called  the  Mink  Lodge,  and  the  other  was  the 
Fox  Lodge.  Below  in  the  right  hand  corner  of 
the  section  he  designates  the  number  of  success- 
ful horse  raids  he  made.  The  mark  with  the  pipe 
beside  it  represents  a  horse  taken  away  from  a 
chief. 

Little  Dog:  This  section  is  a  later  chapter 
in  the  life  of  Chief  Little  Dog.  In  the  right  of 
the  section  is  a  Cree  Camp.  Chief  Little  Dog 
and  his  brother  and  another  Indian  went  into  this 
camp  to  steal  horses  in  the  night.  Little  Dog 
and  his  brother  went  right  up  to  the  doors  of  the 
tepees  to  watch  so  that  no  one  could  come  out 
while  the  third  man  cut  the  horses  loose.  They 
took  away  seventy  horses  in  this  raid.  Each 
horse  in  the  picture  represents  ten  head.  In  the 


222    GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

centre  of  the  section  Little  Dog  shows  an  event 
that  occurred  after  the  coming  of  the  white  men. 
The  Indian  and  white  police  were  after  some 
Montana  bandits.  The  first  picture  shows  them 
coming  upon  the  bandits,  who  escaped  and  took 
refuge  in  the  cabin  shown  below,  where  they  were 
captured  by  Little  Dog  and  his  white  friends. 
In  the  upper  centre  he  pictures  a  fight  with  some 
Blood  Indians,  while  below  that  he  shows  a  fight 
between  the  Crees  and  Chippewas  against  the 
Piegans,  Bloods,  and  Blackfeet  Indians.  Little 
Dog  is  shown  in  the  extreme  left  of  the  section. 
In  this  battle  he  killed  the  Chief  of  the  Chippe- 
was. In  the  lower  centre  he  shows  a  fight  he  had 
with  a  black  bear  in  which  he  nearly  lost  his  life. 
In  the  upper  centre  he  pictures  a  fight  with  a 
buffalo.  He  was  off  his  horse  to  kill  the  buffalo 
which  was  right  near  him.  He  shot  the  buffalo 
and  it  turned  and  hooked  him.  However,  he 
got  away  from  it  and  got  on  his  horse  and  finally 
killed  it.  In  the  upper  left  half  of  the  section 
he  shows  his  lodges,  while  in  the  lower  left  half 
he  pictures  his  Elk  Medicine  Lodge  and  his  Med- 
icine Pipe. 

Mountain  Chief:  This  section  shows  a  second 
chapter  in  the  life  of  Mountain  Chief.  In  the 
lower  left  hand  corner  Mountain  Chief  shows 


BLACKFEET  PICTOGRAPHS    223 

how  he  once  roped  a  buffalo  and  the  buffalo  got 
away  with  his  horse.  Another  Indian  shot  the 
buffalo,  and  Mountain  Chief  got  his  horse  back. 
Above  he  is  shown  in  a  fight  with  a  bear,  while 
above  that  he  is  shown  killing  a  buffalo  after 
it  had  gored  his  horse.  The  groups  in  the  upper 
left  hand  corner  of  the  section  represent  the  num- 
ber of  times  Mountain  Chief  went  to  war.  The 
first  five  times  he  went  against  the  Grovons,  and 
the  sixth  time  he  fought  the  Crows.  In  the  left 
centre  he  is  shown  stealing  a  mule  from  the  Gro- 
vons. The  centre  section  shows  him  on  various 
horse-stealing  raids  of  which  he  is  very  proud. 
In  the  upper  right  centre  of  the  section  Moun- 
tain Chief  shows  how  he  went  into  a  fortified 
Flathead  Camp  and  stole  a  horse  with  only  a  six- 
shooter  for  protection.  Below  is  shown  a  fight 
with  some  Kootenai  Indians.  The  Piegans  killed 
all  the  Kootenais  but  one  boy,  which  Mountain 
Chief  captured  and  brought  home  with  him.  Be- 
low he  is  shown  leading  the  boy  by  the  hand.  In 
the  upper  right  hand  part  of  the  section  Moun- 
tain Chief  describes  a  fierce  fight  with  the  Flat- 
heads,  which  occurred  in  the  Sweet  Grass  Hills 
about  thirty  years  ago.  Many  on  each  side  were 
killed,  but  the  Flatheads  lost  the  most  horses  and 
men.  In  the  lower  right  hand  corner  Mountain 


224,    GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

Chief  pictures  a  fight  with  some  Grovons.  The 
Grovons  came  after  him  and  killed  one  of  the 
Piegans.  Mountain  Chief  killed  one  of  the  Gro- 
von  horses,  and  the  two  Grovons  started  to  ride 
off  double,  when  Mountain  Chief  got  up  and 
stabbed  the  horse  they  were  riding  on.  In.  the 
lower  centre  of  the  section  Mountain  Chief  shows 
his  lodges.  One  of  them  is  Fish  Lodge  and  the 
other  he  calls  Bear  Lodge. 

Big  Moon:  This  is  a  second  chapter  in  the 
life  of  Jack  Big  Moon.  To  the  right  of  the  sec- 
tion he  shows  a  fight  with  some  Blood  Indians 
on  a  hill  near  St.  Mary's  Lake.  In  the  upper 
part  of  the  section  Big  Moon  shows  a  fight  with 
the  Cree  Indians.  The  Crees  were  many  in  num- 
ber, but  the  Piegans  were  on  horses  and  got 
away  after  killing  ten  of  the  Crees.  In  the  lower 
right  corner  he  shows  himself  counting  coup  on 
a  Cree  woman.  In  the  right  centre  of  the  sec- 
tion he  shows  his  lodge,  his  mother  lying  down, 
and  his  wife.  He  is  getting  ready  to  go  on  a 
buffalo  hunt.  Below  he  shows  his  fights  with 
the  buffalo  and  a  bear.  He  also  shows  a  baby 
elk  that  he  roped  near  Two  Medicine  Lake.  He 
claims  that  he  afterward  sold  the  elk  to  the  sol- 
diers at  Fort  McCloud  for  $200. 

Mad  Plume:    A  second  chapter  in  the  life  of 


BLACKFEET  PICTOGRAPHS    225 

Mad  Plume.  The  upper  right  hand  corner 
shows  a  Flathead  Camp  where  Mad  Plume  went 
and  stole  horses.  To  the  left  is  his  Medicine 
Lodge.  In  the  right  centre  he  shows  himself  in 
a  Kootenai  Camp  stealing  horses.  To  the  left 
and  at  the  bottom  he  shows  his  hunting  exploits. 

Wolf  Eagle:  This  is  a  second  chapter  in  the 
life  of  Wolf  Eagle.  In  the  upper  right  hand 
corner  he  describes  a  fight  between  the  Piegans 
and  the  Chippewas.  After  shooting  one  of  the 
Chippewas  off  his  horse  he  is  shown  killing  him 
with  the  butt  of  his  gun.  In  the  lower  centre 
is  shown  a  battle  between  the  Piegans  to  the  left 
and  the  Flatheads  to  the  right.  The  Piegans  are 
on  foot.  Wolf  Eagle  is  shown  leading  his  party 
after  shooting  the  leader  of  the  Flatheads  in  the 
back.  In  the  lower  right  hand  corner  he  pic- 
tures himself  and  a  companion  riding  horses  out 
of  a  Kootenai  camp.  To  the  left  he  describes 
a  fight  he  had  with  a  steer  when  he  was  a  young 
man.  He  killed  the  steer  with  a  knife.  In  the 
lower  left  hand  corner  he  pictures  a  fight  he  had 
with  the  Chippewas,  in  which  he  killed  three  men, 
one  of  them  having  run  into  the  bushes  after  he 
was  shot. 

Billy  Shoot:  To  the  left  of  his  section  Billy 
Shoot  shows  his  lodges.  In  the  enclosure  to  the 


226    GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

left  of  the  section  he  shows  a  battle  with  the 
Crees  in  which  both  he  and  Little  Dog's  brother 
took  part.  This  battle  took  place  not  far  from 
the  present  Agency  of  the  Blackfeet  tribe.  In 
the  lower  left  part  of  the  section  he  shows  him- 
self roping  a  buffalo.  He  also  shows  a  fight  he 
had  with  a  Chippewa  Indian.  The  Chippewa 
tried  to  take  his  axe  away  from  him,  and  Billy 
Shoot  threw  the  Chippewa  off  his  horse  and  ran 
over  him.  The  right  of  the  section  shows  a  bat- 
tle with  the  Flathead  Indians  which  took  place 
in  the  Sweet  Grass  Hills,  and  from  whom  they 
took  numerous  horses. 

Stabbed  by  Mistake:  Stabbed  by  Mistake  is 
a  young  chief.  The  upper  part  of  his  section 
shows  a  Medicine  Lodge  built  by  him.  To  the 
right  is  shown  a  fight  he  had  with  a  bear  and  a 
cub.  Below  he  shows  a  fight  he  had  with  a  Gro- 
von  Indian.  A  friend  was  with  him,  and  he  took 
the  Grovon's  horse  and  they  rode  away  with  it, 
riding  double.  To  the  right  are  shown  his  lodges, 
his  axe  and  his  flag. 

Mountain  Chief:  This  is  a  third  chapter  in 
the  life  of  Mountain  Chief.  He  is  shown  on 
horseback  in  the  upper  right  hand  corner  of  the 
section  driving  horses  stolen  from  the  Crow  In- 
dians. In  the  lower  right  hand  corner  he  is  pic- 


I  -""*     V&i 


A    P1EGAN    MOTHER 


BLACKFEET  PICTOGRAPHS    227 

tured  driving  horses  stolen  from  the  Flatheads, 
among  them  ten  which  were  hobbled.  In  the 
upper  centre  of  the  section  is  shown  a  fight  with 
the  Flatheads,  while  below  that  is  shown  the  kill- 
ing of  a  Crow  Indian.  In  the  lower  right  sec- 
tion Mountain  Chief  tells  how  a  Crow  Indian 
tried  to  take  his  horse  away  from  him.  Moun- 
tain Chief  grabbed  the  gun  from  his  hand  and 
killed  the  Crow  with  it.  In  the  lower  central 
part  is  shown  a  fight  with  the  Crees  in  the  Sweet 
Grass  Hills.  The  lower  left  hand  corner  shows 
a  fight  with  the  Chippewas  in  which  their  Chief, 
White  Dog,  was  killed.  White  Dog  was  a  great 
chief  among  the  Chippewas  and  was  much  feared 
by  all  the  other  tribes,  but  the  first  time  he  was 
met  by  Mountain  Chief  he  was  killed.  Both  Calf 
Tail  and  Wolf  Eagle  were  with  Mountain  Chief 
when  he  took  White  Dog's  scalp.  In  the  ex- 
treme lower  left  corner  are  shown  the  garments 
taken  from  White  Dog  after  he  had  been  killed. 
In  the  upper  centre  is  shown  a  much  prized 
grizzly  skin  that  was  stolen  in  a  fight  with  the 
Flatheads. 

Calf  Tail:  This  is  the  second  chapter  in  the 
life  of  Chief  Calf  Tail.  The  events  pictured  here 
happened  when  he  was  very  young.  In  the  right 
portion  of  the  section  he  is  shown  roping  a  buffalo 


calf  when  he  was  fourteen  years  old.  About  the 
same  time  he  roped  a  young  elk.  The  marks 
from  the  top  to  the  bottom  of  the  section  indi- 
cate the  fourteen  times  he  went  into  different 
camps  on  horse-raiding  expeditions.  To  the  left 
he  is  shown  capturing  two  beavers.  One  he 
caught  by  the  tail  and  the  other  by  the  leg.  Above 
he  is  shooting  a  buffalo  with  an  arrow.  To  the 
left  again  he  is  shown  with  seven  horses  stolen 
from  the  Kootenai  Indians,  and  above  that  he 
is  shown  with  three  horses  stolen  from  the  Chip- 
pewas.  In  the  centre  of  the  picture  is  shown  a 
Sioux  Lodge  from  which  he  and  a  companion 
stole  four  horses,  one  of  tfoem  a  beautiful  pinto. 

Little  Dog:  This  is  a  third  part  of  the  his- 
tory of  Chief  Little  Dog.  He  is  shown  on  horse- 
back in  the  right  of  the  section,  driving  horses 
stolen  from  different  tribes  and  at  different  times. 
He  explained  that  this  number  did  not  represent 
all  the  horses  he  has  stolen,  but  that  each  horse 
represented  a  raid  in  which  a  number  of  horses 
were  taken.  In  the  left  centre  of  the  picture  are 
shown  Little  Dog  and  two  brothers.  Above  are 
some  Chippewa  Indians  with  whom  they  fought 
and  from  whom  they  captured  seven  head  of 
horses. 

Young  Man  Chief:    To  the  right  of  the  sec- 


BLACKFEET  PICTOGRAPHS    229 

tion  Young  Man  Chief  and  six  braves  are  shown 
recapturing  some  horses  that  were  stolen  from 
them  by  the  Cheyenne  Indians.  The  Cheyennes 
had  the  protection  of  a  small  fort,  but  the  Pie- 
gans  killed  them  all  and  took  back  their  horses. 
Below  is  shown  a  fight  with  a  bear.  The  bear  is 
pictured  in  his  hole  where  he  was  killed.  The 
Three  Lodges  in  the  centre  of  the  section  are 
Piegan  Lodges  in  the  Sweet  Grass  Hills.  They 
were  attacked  at  night  by  Grovons  and  Chippe- 
was.  The  Piegans  had  made  a  small  fort  into 
which  they  retired  and  fought  all  night.  In  the 
morning  the  Chippewas  and  Grovons  went  away 
leaving  many  dead  at  the  Camp.  In  the  top  of 
the  History  is  shown  a  fight  in  which  he  took 
part  against  the  Chippewas.  The  Piegans  are  on 
horseback  and  the  Chippewas  were  on  foot.  The 
latter  were  driven  away.  In  the  lower  left  hand 
corner  Young  Man  Chief  shows  himself  driving 
away  horses  stolen  from  his  enemies.  In  the  left 
centre  is  a  Grovon  Camp  with  a  corral  in  the  cen- 
tre. Young  Man  went  into  this  corral  in  the 
night  and  stole  two  horses  and  a  mule.  In  the 
upper  left  hand  corner  he  pictures  himself  killing 
a  mountain  goat.  His  Medicine  Lodge  is  also 
pictured.  Nearly  all  of  these  things  happened 
about  thirty-four  years  ago.  The  buffalo  hide 


230    GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

in  the  upper  centre  of  the  section  was  stolen  from 
the  Kootenai  Indians. 

Wolf  Eagle :  This  is  the  third  chapter  in  the 
life  of  Wolf  Eagle.  The  left  half  of  this  sec- 
tion shows  different  Sioux  Camps  into  which 
Wolf  Eagle  made  raids,  each  time  stealing  a 
number  of  horses.  He  is  shown  in  several  places 
on  horseback  with  his  boy.  In  the  centre  of  the 
section  is  shown  a  Flathead  Corral  from  which 
Wolf  Eagle  stole  twenty-three  horses,  which  are 
indicated  by  the  marks  in  the  corral.  To  the 
right  are  shown  Mink  Lodge,  Yellow  Lodge, 
Buffalo  Lodge,  all  of  which  belonged  to  Wolf 
Eagle.  To  the  right  again  are  pictured  eight 
horses  which  he  stole  from  the  Flathead  Indians. 
Still  to  the  right  is  a  Sioux  encampment  near 
the  Sweet  Grass  Hills.  The  Sioux  were  having 
a  big  gathering  and  celebration.  They  had  hun- 
dreds of  horses  with  them.  The  Piegans  came 
at  night  after  they  had  gone  to  sleep,  and  stole 
more  than  a  hundred  head  of  horses  from  them. 

Big  Moon:  The  right  end  of  the  last  section 
is  part  of  Big  Moon's  history.  At  the  bottom, 
Big  Moon  pictures  a  big  encampment  of  Pie- 
gan  Indians  at  a  Medicine  Lodge  at  Browning. 
Big  Moon  says  that  all  the  Indians  whose  his- 
tories are  told  here  were  at  this  celebration. 


BLACKFEET  PICTOGRAPHS    231 

Above  is  shown  a  Flathead  Camp  near  a  lake  in 
the  Bear  Hills.  The  blue  spot  to  the  extreme 
right  is  the  lake.  The  Flatheads  had  a  fort  and 
had  the  horses  in  one  part  and  the  people  in  an- 
other. Big  Moon  and  a  large  band  of  Piegans 
came  to  the  fort  in  the  night  and  killed  all  the 
people  and  the  horses.  Big  Moon  is  represented 
in  the  picture  by  the  figure  with  the  moon  over 
his  head,  taking  the  scalp  of  one  of  the  Flat- 
heads.  Big  Moon  says  this  fight  was  over  fifty 
years  ago,  and  he  is  eighty  years  old  now. 

Note:  (Interpretation  of  historical  paintings 
made  by  Blackfeet  Indian  Chiefs  on  150  foot 
canvas.  The  sections  of  this  canvas  are  num- 
bered with  red  figures  in  the  upper  right  hand 
corner  of  each. ) 

Sec.  1  portrays  the  exploits  of  Many  Heights 
chasing  a  mountain  goat  over  the  heights,  and 
finally  catching  it,  and,  falling  from  a  precipice 
with  his  arms  about  the  goat's  neck,  both  of  them 
lighting  on  the  ground  without  injury.  This  is 
the  first  instance  recorded  where  an  Indian 
caught  a  goat  in  his  hands,  and  the  fact  that  he 
fell  over  the  precipice  with  the  goat  without  being 
killed  was  regarded  as  very  remarkable. 

Below  Many  Heights  (the  blue  figures)  is 
seen  Chief  Boy  with  a  quiver  taken  from  an 


232    GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

enemy.  Here  we  also  see  Boy  chasing  a  grizzly 
bear  and  killing  it.  It  was  only  on  account  of 
the  fact  that  Boy  was  on  horseback  that  he  es- 
caped being  killed  by  the  bear  instead.  On  the 
left  side  of  this  section  is  shown  a  fight  with  the 
Sioux  Indians,  with  the  Sioux  running  into  the 
woods  to  save  themselves.  On  the  left  of  the  strip 
of  woods  represented  in  the  picture  is  seen  the 
tepee  camp  of  the  Sioux,  and  a  battle  going  on 
between  them  and  Piegan  Indians,  between  the 
Sioux  and  the  Piegan  Camps,  which  were  located 
about  25  miles  apart. 

On  to  the  left  is  seen  Chief  Heavy  Shield,  or 
Many  Horses,  who  wras  the  first  chief  of  the  line 
from  which  Chief  Eagle  Calf  comes.  He  had 
gone  out  one  morning  with  his  squaw  to  gather 
some  buffalo  bones,  which  were  used  in  the  tan- 
ning of  hides,  and  were  met  by  a  party  of  Sioux 
Indians,  Grovons,  and  Crows,  whom  Heavy 
Shield  tried  to  persuade  to  go  with  him  to  his 
camp  and  make  peace,  offering  them  presents, 
etc.  The  rival  tribes,  however,  did  not  take  up 
Heavy  Shield's  offer  of  peace,  and  proceeded 
to  kill  him  and  his  wife.  This  picture  then  goes 
on  to  depict  the  attack  of  the  Piegans  upon  the 
Sioux  and  their  allies,  the  battle  resulting  in  the 
killing  of  one  hundred  and  forty  of  the  enemy. 


BLACKFEET  PICTOGRAPHS    233 

The  battle  line  extended  over  a  distance  of  eight 
miles  and  a  very  few  of  the  Crows  and  their 
party  escaped  with  their  lives.  They  would  have 
been  saved  had  they  taken  Heavy  Shield's  ad- 
vice and  made  peace  with  them,  but  they  refused 
to  heed  his  proffer.  From  the  fact  that  Heavy 
Shield  had  so  many  horses,  he  was  also  known 
by  the  name  of  Many  Horses.  His  herd  num- 
bered about  three  hundred  horses. 

Sec.  2.  Chief  Big  Mike  Shortman.  His  te- 
pee lodge  is  seen  on  the  left  hand  side  of  the  pic- 
ture. In  the  lower  left  hand  corner  are  a  num- 
ber of  horses  stolen  from  the  Crows'  camp ;  in  the 
upper  left  hand  corner  are  also  horses  stolen  from 
the  Crows.  Mike  was  on  foot  when  stealing 
horses,  and  when  about  to  be  captured  by  the 
Crows,  Big  Spring  took  him  up  on  his  horse, 
and  by  riding  double  they  got  away.  They  are 
seen  riding  double  on  a  blue  horse,  in  the  upper 
left  hand  corner.  In  the  centre  are  seen  Big 
Mike  and  Big  Springs  in  a  hole  in  the  ground, 
fighting  off  the  Crows. 

Sec.  3  also  contains  the  history  of  Big  Mike. 
At  the  top  are  seen  the  three  tepee  lodges  of 
Big  Mike,  as  well  as  two  horses  stolen  from  a 
corral  of  the  Yankton  Sioux,  which  were  highly 
prized  for  chasing  buffalo.  In  the  lower  right 


234    GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

band  corner  Mike  is  seen  running  over  a  grizzly 
bear  on  his  horse,  after  which  the  bear  attacked 
him  and  wounded  him,  but  Mike  finally  killed 
him. 

Sec.  4  shows  the  arms  taken  from  Yankton 
Sioux  by  the  Piegans  and  the  Piegans  chasing 
the  Sioux.  This  engagement  was  called  the  Bat- 
tle of  Many  Shields,  on  account  of  the  large 
number  of  shields  captured,  which  are  graphi- 
cally represented  in  the  picture. 

Sec.  5  is  the  history  of  Boss  Ribs.  In  the 
lower  right  hand  corner  he  is  seen  taking  two 
wounded  Piegans  away,  after  they  had  been 
wounded  in  a  fight  with  the  Yankton  Sioux  un- 
der Chief  White  Dog.  White  Dog  shot  the  horse 
out  from  under  one  Piegan,  after  which  the  Pie- 
gan  shot  White  Dog.  In  the  lower  left  hand  cor- 
ner are  seen  the  Yankton  Sioux  and  their  Chief 
White  Dog  shooting  at  the  Piegans,  but  the 
Piegans  shot  him  in  the  leg  and  then  scalped  him 
in  this  battle.  At  the  top  of  the  picture  are  the 
buttes  of  the  Sweet  Grass  Hills,  from  behind 
which  the  Yankton  Sioux  came  up  in  the  night 
and  stole  fifty  horses  from  the  Piegans.  Near 
the  centre  of  the  Section  is  Chief  Heavy 
Runner  of  the  Piegans,  taking  the  gun  away 
from  Chief  White  Dog  of  the  Sioux,  after  he 


BLACKFEET  PICTOGRAPHS    235 

had  been  shot  in  the  leg.  Jack  Big  Moon  was 
also  in  this  battle.  The  Sioux  were  saved  only 
by  retreating  into  the  woods,  shown  on  the  left 
of  the  picture.  There  were  six  of  them  in  the 
party  which  made  the  raid  on  the  ten  Piegan 
tepees. 

Sec.  6  continues  the  story  of  Boss  Ribs,  the 
lower  left  hand  corner  showing  him,  after  falling 
from  his  horse,  catching  an  antelope  by  the  horns ; 
also  shooting  and  killing  a  buffalo  with  his  bow 
and  arrow.  Above  these  figures  are  seen  Boss 
Ribs  with  the  buffalo  and  deer  which  he  has 
killed,  together  with  his  bow  and  arrows  be- 
side a  hunting  lodge  built  of  boughs.  Above 
may  be  seen  the  figure  of  a  buffalo  through  whose 
carcass  Boss  Ribs  shot  an  arrow.  In  the  lower 
right  hand  corner  Boss  Ribs  and  one  of  his  com- 
panions are  seen  killing  a  huge  grizzly  bear,  and 
in  the  upper  right  hand  portion  of  the  section 
there  is  a  party  of  Piegans  chasing  and  shoot- 
ing at  a  grizzly  bear.  In  the  upper  left  hand 
Boss  Ribs  is  seen  being  attacked  by  a  buffalo, 
which  killed  his  horse  and  knocked  Boss  Ribs 
senseless.  On  the  left  hand  side  of  the  picture 
are  a  number  of  signs  representing  the  recon- 
noitring of  scouts  sent  out  to  spy  out  the  enemy. 
The  curved  lines  in  these  signs  represent  the 


236    GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

scout's  eyes,  and  the  zigzag  lines  indicate  the 
direction  he  took  in  going  to  some  point  of  van- 
tage where  he  could  see  the  Indians  ahead.  Often 
the  enemy  would  have  a  party  dancing  when 
they  saw  a  spy,  but  while  some  of  their  number 
danced  to  throw  the  spy  off  his  guard,  others 
would  come  around  and  attempt  to  execute  a 
flank  movement  upon  their  foes.  These  marks 
or  signs  were  left  by  the  scouts  as  they  went 
ahead,  and  were  unintelligible  to  any  of  the  other 
Indian  tribes,  being  understood  only  by  their  own 
people. 

Sec.  7  gives  the  history  of  Chief  All  Over.  On 
the  right  hand  side  of  the  picture  are  seen  a  group 
of  Chippewas  and  Crows  chasing  the  Piegans,, 
who  hid  in  holes  to  make  a  stand  against  them. 
Chief  All  Over  was  not  hurt  in  this  battle,  al- 
though the  figure  of  his  horse  which  was  wounded 
is  seen  near  the  centre  of  the  section. 

In  this  section  are  to  be  seen  some  of  the  same 
marks  left  by  scouts,  and  as  Chief  All  Over  was 
a  very  brave  Indian,  he  was  often  sent  to  spy 
out  the  enemy,  and  was  not  content  to  get  a  look 
at  them  from  afar,  but  often  crept  clear  up  to 
their  camps  so  that  he  could  see  everything. 

Sec.  8  gives  more  of  the  history  of  Boss  Ribs. 
In  the  right  hand  side  of  the  picture  are  the 


BLACKFEET  PICTOGRAPHS    237 

camps  of  the  Cheyenne  Indians  and  their  horses, 
which  were  taken  from  them  by  Boss  Ribs. 
There  was  nobody  at  the  Cheyenne  Camp  but 
the  squaws  when  the  horses  were  stolen,  but  they, 
of  course,  gave  the  alarm  to  their  braves  when 
they  returned,  who  took  after  the  Piegans  and 
their  spoils.  On  account  of  the  large  number  of 
the  Cheyennes,  they  were  able  to  get  back  their 
horses  from  Boss  Ribs  and  his  party.  The 
rectangular  figures  in  this  section  represent 
blankets  stolen  from  the  Cheyennes  by  Boss  Ribs, 
while  the  marks  resembling  inverted  "U's,"  eight 
in  number,  constitute  the  record  of  the  number 
of  successful  horse-stealing  expeditions  to  the 
credit  of  Chief  Boss  Ribs. 

Sec.  9  is  the  history  of  Old  Shorty  White 
Grass.  The  centre  group  of  figures  on  the  right 
hand  side  of  the  section  portrays  a  brave  Eagle 
named  Eagle  Flag,  taking  up  a  spear  left  in  the 
ground  by  the  Grovons,  in  the  form  of  a  chal- 
lenge. The  taking  up  of  this  spear,  in  addition 
to  being  an  acceptance  of  the  enemy's  challenge, 
placed  Eagle  Flag  in  the  position  of  leader  of 
the  party.  He  was  shot  by  the  enemy  while 
taking  this  spear,  but  took  it  just  the  same. 
Chief  Shorty  White  Grass  is  shown  in  the  groups 
above  and  below  Eagle  Flag  in  combat  with  ene- 


238    GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

mies.  The  lower  left  hand  corner  shows  a  Grovon 
Indian  running  away  with  a  famous  horse  of 
the  Piegans,  called  "One  Bear"  Horse,  which 
was  the  only  horse  on  which  this  Grovon  could 
have  escaped,  because  of  his  great  fleetness  of 
foot.  Chief  Shorty  is  seen  chasing  after  the  thief 
and  "One  Bear,"  but  he  had  no  horse  which  could 
keep  up  with  "One  Bear"  and  his  horse  is  seen  in 
the  blue  figure,  about  to  give  out  in  the  chase 
after  "One  Bear."  The  upper  left  hand  corner 
shows  Short  killing  a  man  on  horseback  and  tak- 
ing his  gun  away  from  him. 

Sec.  10  gives  another  chapter  of  the  history  of 
Chief  All  Over.  On  the  right  hand  side  of  the 
picture  a  buffalo  is  seen  hooking  All  Over's  horse, 
but  All  Over  killed  the  buffalo.  In  the  lower 
right  hand  corner  All  Over  is  seen  attacking  a 
Grovon  tepee  lodge  in  the  night  and  killing  the 
inmates,  and  in  the  upper  right  hand  corner  a 
similar  scene  is  depicted.  To  the  left  of  this  is 
All  Over  killing  a  grizzly  bear  which  had  chased 
him,  while  to  the  left  of  this  scene  All  Over  is 
seen  fighting  with  Chippewas  and  Cheyennes. 
His  horse  was  wounded  in  this  battle.  Chief 
Jack  Big  Moon,  who  helped  give  the  interpreta- 
tion of  this  picture,  was  present  in  the  fight.  The 
party  of  Chippewas  and  Cheyennes  numbered 


BLACKFEET  PICTOGRAPHS    239 

about  two  hundred.  Below  this  scene  All  Over 
is  shown  killing  an  antelope  deer  while  his  horse 
was  running  very  fast,  showing  his  skill  as  a 
hunter.  In  the  centre  he  is  shown  killing  a 
grizzly  bear.  In  the  lower  left  hand  corner  are 
some  other  pictures  showing  All  Over's  skill  and 
bravery  as  a  hunter ;  in  one  scene  he  is  grabbing  a 
coyote  with  his  hands  and  then  stabbing  him  with 
a  knife,  while  in  another  he  is  shooting  a  chicken 
in  the  air.  In  this  part  of  the  picture  All  Over 
is  also  seen  on  a  painted  horse  with  three  horses 
stolen  from  other  tribes.  The  eight  marks  re- 
sembling inverted  "U's"  are  the  record  of  the 
successful  horse-stealing  expeditions  of  All  Over. 
In  the  upper  left  hand  corner  All  Over  is  seen 
having  a  hard  time  roping  a  black  tail  deer,  which 
he  is  holding  with  one  hand,  while  with  the  other 
he  is  trying  to  manage  his  horse  which  is  pulling 
back  on  him. 

Sec.  11  is  the  history  of  Many  Tail  Feathers, 
a  very  brave  chief,  and  one  of  the  old  survivors 
of  the  times  represented  in  these  paintings.  On 
the  right  hand  side  are  the  fourteen  marks  con- 
stituting the  record  of  this  Chief's  horse  steal- 
ing, the  large  number  to  his  credit  indicating 
that  he  was  a  very  brave  Indian,  in  fact  the  brav- 
est of  the  Piegans.  He  was  not  afraid  of  any- 


240    GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

thing  and  was  always  ready  for  war.  To  the 
left  Many  Tail  Feathers  is  seen  in  a  battle  with 
the  Crows  and  Cheyennes.  In  the  upper  left 
hand  corner  is  seen  a  blue  figure  of  a  horse  with- 
out legs,  which  indicates  that  the  horse  is  hiding 
down  in  a  coulee,  while  his  rider,  Many  Tail 
Feathers,  is  off  fighting  with  his  foes.  On  the 
left  hand  side  of  the  picture  the  Cheyennes  are 
seen  attacking  the  tepee  camp  of  Many  Tail 
Feathers,  but  as  there  were  deep  holes  in  the 
ground  inside  of  the  tepee  Many  Tail  Feathers 
and  his  people  were  able  to  hide  in  the  holes  and 
protect  themselves,  raising  up  the  lower  edge  of 
the  tepees  when  they  wished  to  shoot  out  at  their 
attackers.  A  creek  is  represented  as  flowing 
through  this  tepee  camp,  with  one  tepee  on  one 
side  and  four  on  the  other  side. 

Sec.  12  covers  the  deeds  of  Chief  Stingy,  an- 
other one  of  the  old  and  brave  Indians  of  these 
times,  seen  in  the  lower  right  hand  corner  chas- 
ing and  killing  a  grizzly  bear  and  buffalo.  To 
the  left  of  this  he  is  seen  having  roped  a  buf- 
falo, and  being  dragged  by  the  buffalo  on  ac- 
count of  having  caught  his  foot  in  the  end  of  his 
rope.  He  was  dragged  for  quite  a  distance,  but 
finally  freed  his  foot  and  captured  the  buffalo. 
In  the  upper  right  hand  corner  Stingy  is  sur- 


BLACKFEET  PICTOGRAPHS    241 

rounded  by  the  Crows,  whom  he  drove  off  after 
a  fierce  fight  with  them.  In  the  centre  are  shown 
horses  stolen  from  the  Cheyennes  and  Crows, 
and  Stingy  chasing  the  enemy  off  on  the  left  hand 
side  of  the  picture.  On  the  left  hand  side  are 
Stingy's  fourteen  marks,  the  record  of  his  horse 
thefts,  each  mark  counting  for  fifty  or  more 
horses  stolen  in  one  raid.  The  six  figures  of 
horses  stand  for  the  horses  stolen  from  six  dif- 
ferent tribes,  namely,  the  Sioux,  Flatheads,  Nez 
Perces,  Crows,  Kootenais  and  Grovons.  In  the 
lower  left  hand  corner  is  the  picture  of  a  black 
buffalo  tepee  lodge  of  the  Piegans,  which  was 
owned  in  succession  by  ten  different  Indians,  and 
lastly  by  Chief  Stingy,  who  gave  it  to  his  boy 
named  Bushes.  Down  in  this  corner  of  the  pic- 
ture are  the  marks  of  the  scouts,  which  they  left 
for  their  parties  when  they  had  seen  the  enemies. 
Here  are  also  seen  some  small  figures  of  a  toma- 
hawk, a  hatchet,  a  knife,  a  bag,  bow  and  arrows 
and  a  quiver,  each  representing  something  taken 
from  enemies  by  big  men  of  the  Piegan  Tribe. 
Sec.  13  gives  more  of  the  exploits  of  Chief  All 
Over.  On  the  right  hand  side  are  his  horse  steal- 
ing marks,  thirteen  in  number,  indicating  the 
number  of  parties  he  had  been  in  on  this  kind 
of  business.  On  the  left  hand  side  and  in  the 


242    GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

centre  is  a  party  of  Sioux  and  Grovons  chasing 
nine  of  the  Piegans,  who  had  stolen  the  horses 
from  their  tepees  shown  in  the  next  section, 
No.  14. 

Sec.  14,  on  the  right  hand  side  of  this  section, 
which  is  really  a  continuation  of  Sec.  13,  are  the 
tepees  of  the  Sioux  and  Grovon  party,  with  this 
party  chasing  the  Piegans,  who  had  stolen  their 
horses,  and  finally  recovering  them.  On  the  left 
hand  side  of  the  section  are  the  figures  of  four 
horses  stolen  from  the  Cheyenne  Indians  by 
Chief  All  Over. 

Sec.  15  continues  additional  deeds  of  Chief 
Many  Tail  Feathers.  To  the  centre  of  the  pic- 
ture are  seen  the  Sweet  Grass  Hills.  In  the  up- 
per right  hand  corner  is  a  war  party  composed 
of  Sioux,  Crows,  Grovons  and  Cheyennes,  en- 
gaged in  a  battle  with  seven  Piegans.  The  Pie- 
gans are  seen  going  up  the  Sweet  Grass  Hills  so 
as  to  discover  the  enemy's  war  party.  In  the 
lower  right  hand  corner  is  pictured  a  big  battle 
with  the  Sioux  and  Crows  at  the  confluence  of 
the  Yellowstone  and  Missouri  Rivers.  On  the 
left  hand  side  Many  Tail  Feathers  is  seen  on  a 
painted  horse  with  the  other  horses  they  had 
stolen  from  the  Sioux. 

Sec.  16  is  another  chapter  in  the  life  of  Shorty 


BLACKFEET  PICTOGRAPHS    243 

White  Grass.  In  this  section  are  seen  his  party 
of  three  stealing  a  large  band  of  horses  from 
the  Chippewa  Indians  in  the  Alberta  country. 
In  the  upper  left  hand  corner  are  horses  stolen 
by  him  and  his  war  party.  In  the  lower  left 
hand  corner  are  a  couple  of  scenes  in  which 
Shorty  throws  away  his  gun  and  kills  a  buffalo 
and  a  black  tail  deer  in  a  hand-to-hand  fight  with 
his  knife.  In  the  lower  left  hand  corner  Shorty 
is  seen  in  an  encounter  with  a  buffalo  which  had 
hooked  his  horse. 

Sec.  17  is  the  history  of  Chief  Ground,  father 
of  Eagle  Calf,  who  gave  the  interpretation  of 
these  paintings.  In  the  upper  right  hand  corner 
is  a  party  of  Piegans  in  a  hole  for  defence.  They 
had  but  one  horse  with  them,  but  this  was  a  won- 
derful animal,  called  "Crazy  Horse,"  owned  by 
Black  Eagle.  This  horse  was  attacked  by  vari- 
ous war  parties  fourteen  different  times  in  bat- 
tle, but  was  never  once  hurt.  He  was  the  only 
horse  the  Piegans  took  with  them  when  they 
went  on  horse-stealing  raids,  and  if,  on  one  of 
these  raids,  one  of  the  party  should  become  ex- 
hausted, they  would  put  him  on  "Crazy  Horse" 
and  thus  enable  him  to  keep  up  with  the  party. 
In  this  way  he  saved  the  lives  of  many  Indians. 

Before  Black  Eagle  owned  this  horse,  Bear 


Head  owned  him,  and  used  him  in  eight  different 
battles  in  all  of  which  he  made  scalps  from  the 
enemies.  This  horse  died  of  old  age. 

In  the  lower  right  hand  corner  Ground  is 
seen  grabbing  a  live  coon  in  his  hands,  which  he 
captured  in  order  to  get  the  fur  for  a  cap.  The 
cap  made  from  this  skin  is  now  in  the  hands  of 
Ground's  son,  Eagle  Calf.  The  horses  standing 
on  the  left  hand  side  and  in  the  lower  left  hand 
corner  of  the  picture  are  the  horses  of  the  Crows, 
who  had  dismounted  to  fight  around  the  ambush 
of  the  Piegans. 

Sec.  18  gives  more  of  the  doings  of  Stingy. 
In  the  lower  right  hand  corner  Stingy  is  seen 
on  horseback  with  a  bitch  dog  and  litter  of  pups 
which  he  stole  from  a  Sioux  camp  and  took  home 
with  him.  This  section  also  shows  Stingy  with 
a  fine  horse  stolen  from  the  Sioux.  On  the  right 
hand  is  seen  a  horse  stolen  by  Stingy.  In  the 
upper  right  hand  corner  is  seen  Stingy  roping  a 
fierce  mountain  lion,  while  to  the  left  of  this  scene 
are  Stingy  and  his  party  in  an  ambuscade,  with 
an  Indian  killed  by  them  on  the  outside,  and  a 
lot  of  weapons  and  arms  left  by  the  enemy. 
Among  the  arms  taken  in  this  fight  are  two 
knives,  two  guns  and  two  medicine  whips,  which 
are  still  in  the  possession  of  Stingy. 


BLACKFEET  PICTOGRAPHS    245 

At  the  bottom  of  this  section  is  a  row  of  seven 
tepee  lodges,  indicating  the  number  of  times  that 
Stingy  had  the  Medicine  Lodge  for  the  tribe. 
The  thirteen  big  lodges  above  the  bottom  row 
show  the  number  of  times  the  Indians  have  held 
the  big  Medicine  Lodge  celebrations  at  Brown- 
ing. On  the  occasion  of  one  of  these  celebrations 
it  rained  incessantly  four  days,  and  Stingy  and 
other  Medicine  Men  tried  in  every  way  to  stop 
the  rain,  but  without  success.  The  figure  of 
Stingy  near  the  top  of  the  picture  is  seen  clad 
in  a  big  elk  robe,  worn  for  protection  from  the 
downpour  of  rain,  while  he  was  endeavouring 
to  work  his  charms  upon  the  weather  to  cause 
it  to  cease  raining.  This  rain  flooded  the  Medi- 
cine Lodge. 

On  these  occasions  there  are  four  to  five  thou- 
sand Indians  gathered  each  year,  and  after  erect- 
ing the  medicine  lodges  of  poles,  boughs,  etc., 
for  the  purpose  of  shade,  they  carry  on  a  celebra- 
tion for  several  days,  giving  the  various  dances— 
the  grass  dances,  women's  dances,  crazy  dog 
dances,  chicken  dances,  and  night  dances.  One 
of  the  earlier  dances,  the  sun  dance,  has  not  been 
in  vogue  for  about  seventy  years,  having  been 
stopped  by  the  Government.  In  this  dance 
strips  of  flesh  on  the  breasts  of  the  dancers  were 


246    GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

cut  loose  with  knives,  under  which  wooden  pegs 
were  inserted,  to  which  rawhide  thongs  were 
attached.  The  dancers  were  then  suspended 
from  poles  by  these  thongs,  where  they  hung 
without  food  and  with  only  a  little  water  to  drink, 
for  four  days  and  nights,  pulling  and  tugging 
intermittently  at  the  thongs  to  try  and  pull  the 
pegs  out  of  the  flesh  of  their  bodies.  If  at  the 
end  of  the  four  days  the  flesh  had  not  given  way 
and  allowed  the  bodies  to  come  down  to  the 
ground,  the  strips  of  flesh  were  cut  with  knives, 
allowing  the  bodies  to  descend.  This  was  the 
great  test  of  bravery  among  the  Indians,  but  the 
practice  was  stopped  by  the  Government. 

Sec.  19  continues  the  history  of  Shorty  White 
Grass.  On  the  right  hand  side  is  shown  a  battle 
on  the  Marias  River,  on  the  west  side  of  the 
Sweet  Grass  Hills,  with  a  party  of  fifty  Chip- 
pewas  and  Crees.  Some  four  thousand  Piegans, 
however,  completely  surrounded  and  cleaned  this 
party  up.  In  the  centre  are  seen  the  arms  and 
horses  taken  from  this  party,  all  of  whom  were 
killed  and  scalped.  Chief  Running  Crane  was 
shot  in  this  battle.  The  figure  of  a  yellow  horse 
with  two  riders  is  Shorty  saving  a  wounded  Pie- 
gan  brave,  who  was  fighting  on  foot.  In  the 
upper  right  hand  corner,  one  of  the  chiefs  of  the 


BLACKFEET  PICTOGRAPHS    247 

enemy  is  entreating  Chief  Big  Nose  of  the  Pie- 
gan  party  to  kill  him  with  a  club  instead  of  with 
a  gun,  seeing  that  death  was  inevitable  and  fear- 
ing the  death  by  a  gun.  Big  Nose's  name  when 
he  was  a  boy  was  Bear  Chief,  later  Three  Sons, 
and  when  an  old  man  it  was  Big  Nose,  his  sons 
taking  the  old  names  as  they  grew  to  manhood. 
The  name  Big  Nose  of  course  arose  from  the 
abnormal  size  of  his  nose.  In  the  lower  left 
hand  corner  are  the  horses  taken  from  the  Chip- 
pewas  in  this  battle.  A  creek  called  by  the  In- 
dians Red  River  was  so  named  at  the  time  of 
this  battle,  because  the  enemy,  in  trying  to  es- 
cape, ran  into  the  stream  and  reddened  the  waters 
of  it  with  their  blood  so  that  it  ran  crimson 
during  the  fight.  In  the  upper  left  hand  cor- 
ner White  Grass  is  seen  killing  a  buffalo.  In  this 
part  of  the  picture  is  also  seen  a  green  figure  of 
a  horse  which  was  White  Grass'  best  steed. 

Sec.  20  is  another  section  devoted  to  the  his- 
tory of  Many  Tail  Feathers,  and  shows  the  camp 
of  the  Yankton  Sioux  on  Bear  River,  called 
by  the  whites  Musselshell  River.  The  lower 
right  hand  corner  of  the  picture  shows  Many 
Tail  Feathers  stealing  horses  from  the  Grovons 
in  the  Sweet  Grass  Hills.  The  upper  left  hand 
corner  shows  him  leading  away  another  horse 


248    GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

he  has  stolen.  On  the  left  hand  side  of  the  pic- 
ture are  the  Sweet  Grass  Hills. 

Sec.  21  is  also  devoted  to  the  further  exploits 
of  Many  Tail  Feathers,  and  shows  him  driving 
off  a  horse  which  he  has  stolen  from  the  Gro- 
vons.  On  the  left  hand  side  of  this  section  are 
some  records  of  horse-stealing  raids,  the  eleven 
red  marks  being  Chief  Boy's  record,  the  eleven 
yellow  marks  belonging  to  Shorty  White  Grass, 
and  the  ten  blue  ones  being  the  record  of  Stingy. 

Sec.  22  contains  the  history  of  Bad  Marriage, 
who  was  so  named  from  the  fact  that  he  was 
married  four  or  five  times,  but  had  the  misfor- 
tune to  lose  all  of  his  wives  by  death  as  fast  as 
he  married  them.  In  the  lower  right  hand  cor- 
ner of  the  picture  a  party  of  the  Piegans'  enemies 
spied  Bad  Marriage  and  a  companion  butcher- 
ing a  buffalo  which  they  had  killed  and  were  pre- 
paring to  take  home  with  them.  The  party  of 
the  enemy  took  after  them,  forcing  them  to  aban- 
don the  carcass  of  the  buffalo  and  escape  on  their 
horses,  after  giving  fight.  In  the  upper  right 
hand  corner  Bad  Marriage,  who  was  a  very  brave 
Indian,  is  seen  stealing  a  horse  from  a  tepee 
of  the  Crows.  The  upper  left  hand  corner  of 
the  picture  shows  Bad  Marriage  killing  two  black 
tailed  deer  whose  horns  had  become  locked  to- 


BLACKFEET  PICTOGRAPHS    249 

gather  in  a  fight.  Here  he  is  also  pictured  grab- 
bing an  antelope  by  the  horns  before  it  was  dead, 
and  finishing  it  in  a  hand-to-hand  encounter. 
The  four  marks,  similar  to  those  described  be- 
fore in  some  of  the  other  interpretations,  consti- 
tute his  record  as  a  horse  thief  among  rival  tribes. 
In  the  upper  left  hand  corner  are  seen  some  of 
the  hunting  exploits  of  Bad  Marriage.  He  is 
seen  shooting  a  duck  twice  on  the  wing  in  order 
to  kill  it;  shooting  a  jack  rabbit  with  a  bow  and 
arrow  and  wounding  it,  so  that  he  had  to  run 
after  it  and  shoot  it  again  in  order  to  get  it. 
In  this  same  part  of  the  picture  Bad  Marriage's 
dog  is  seen  grabbing  a  duck  as  it  rose  from  the 
ground  to  fly  away.  In  order  to  get  this  duck, 
his  dog  had  to  jump  up  a  remarkable  distance 
into  the  air,  but  made  good.  Bad  Marriage  is 
also  seen  shooting  at  a  grizzly  bear  with  his  bow 
and  arrow,  but  the  bear  was  only  wounded  and 
instead  of  staying  and  fighting  with  Bad  Mar- 
riage he  escaped. 

In  the  lower  left  hand  corner  of  the  section 
Bad  Marriage  is  seen  in  a  large  tepee,  sur- 
rounded by  his  friends,  who  are  all  dressed  and 
equipped  for  a  great  beaver  dance,  in  the  nature 
of  a  celebration  over  the  successful  bagging  of 
a  large  number  of  beavers.  The  beaver  skins  can 


250    GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

be  seen  displayed  between  the  groups  of  wait- 
ing dancers,  some  of  whom  have  rattles,  and  some 
drums  or  tomtoms.  At  the  centre  of  the  tepee 
is  Bad  Marriage  at  the  fire  looking  after  the 
preparation  of  things  for  the  feast  which  will 
follow  the  dance,  while  back  of  him  are  the  pots 
of  various  kinds  of  soups,  and  a  waiter  ready 
to  do  the  serving  when  the  dance  is  over. 

Note:  Interpretation  of  the  Indian  picture 
paintings  on  second  canvas  roll,  painted  by 
Blackfeet  Indians: 

The  first  section  depicts  the  history  of  a  brave 
Indian  warrior  named  Stingy.  In  this  section 
will  be  seen  red  figures  of  horses  with  saddles 
which  Stingy  stole  from  his  enemies ;  a  personal 
encounter  between  Stingy  and  a  buffalo,  with 
Stingy  hanging  to  the  buffalo,  grabbing  him  by 
one  horn  and  his  tongue ;  an  episode  with  a  griz- 
zly bear,  which  refused  to  obey  orders  and  stood 
and  looked  at  Stingy;  Stingy  grabbing  a  huge 
rattlesnake  as  he  was  crawling  into  his  hole  and 
breaking  him  in  two;  Stingy  shooting  a  grizzly 
bear  in  the  mouth  as  the  bear  was  coming  at  him ; 
a  picture  of  the  drowning  of  Stingy,  caused  by 
him  losing  his  horse  in  a  treacherous  stream;  a 
Flathead  Indian  captured  by  Stingy  and  car- 
ried by  him  to  his  tepee;  battle  between  the 


BLACKFEET  PICTOGRAPHS    251 

Blackfeet  and  Yankton  Sioux  Indians,  showing 
the  Blackfeet  wounded  and  the  Sioux  killed;  and 
the  weapons  and  elk  skins  captured  from  the 
Sioux;  Stingy  with  pipe  and  arrows  which  he 
took  from  an  enemy  after  he  had  shot  him; 
Stingy  shooting  an  arrow  at  an  enemy;  Stingy 
killing  two  men  with  one  shot  from  his  gun ;  bat- 
tle between  the  Flathead  Indians  and  the  Nez 
Perces  and  the  Sioux,  showing  the  holes  which 
the  Indians  dug  as  a  place  to  hide  and  shoot 
from. 

The  second  section  continues  the  history  of 
Stingy,  and  shows  him  in  a  single-handed  fight 
with  the  Assiniboine  and  Sioux  Indians  on 
horses ;  Stingy  stealing  horses  from  the  Indians, 
cutting  the  picket  ropes  where  the  horses  were 
tethered  near  the  tepees  of  the  Crows,  and  the 
Crows  shooting  at  him;  Stingy  shooting  a  Crow 
who  was  trying  to  kill  him  with  a  long  spear; 
after  he  had  shot  him  he  ran  over  him;  Stingy 
shooting  a  Sioux  from  his  horse;  Stingy  attack- 
ing and  killing  some  Crow  Indians ;  Stingy  with 
an  Indian  he  had  killed  and  the  spear  taken 
from  him. 

The  third  section  covers  the  history  of  Chief 
Boy,  and  shows  him  killing  a  buffalo  with  bow 
and  arrow  before  the  use  of  guns  among  the  In- 


252    GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

dians ;  Boy  stealing  the  best  horses  of  the  Yank- 
ton  Sioux  which  were  tethered  near  the  tepees 
(he  painted  these  horses  after  they  had  been 
stolen) ;  three  mules,  indicated  by  their  long  ears, 
stolen  by  Boy  from  the  Crows;  and  the  buffalo 
tepee  which  was  the  home  of  Boy.  The  three 
horses  and  riders  are  Boy  and  his  braves  chas- 
ing a  Crow,  killing  him  and  taking  his  gun  away 
from  him;  Boy  chasing  a  Sioux  and  taking  his 
gun  away  from  him  while  the  horses  were  run- 
ning; Crow's  tepee  with  horses  picketed  around 
it,  and  Boy  stealing  them ;  three  horses  with  sad- 
dles taken  from  the  Flathead  Indians  in  a  fierce 
battle,  and  the  arms,  guns,  etc.,  taken  from 
them;  a  battle  between  the  enemy  and  Boy  and 
his  braves,  the  latter  hiding  in  holes  in  the 
ground;  Boy  was  wounded  in  the  battle. 

Section  four  gives  the  history  of  Black  Bear, 
a  brave  old  Indian  warrior,  showing  him  killing 
Sioux  and  Assiniboine  Indians  and  taking  their 
horses  from  them;  Black  Bear  on  foot,  fighting 
with  the  Indians ;  horses  stolen  from  his  enemies ; 
Black  Bear  taking  a  squaw  from  a  Sioux  Indian 
after  he  had  killed  him;  Black  Bear  on  a  horse 
killing  a  fierce  grizzly  bear ;  taking  a  gun  from  a 
Sioux  after  he  had  killed  him ;  Black  Bear  shoot- 
ing Flathead  Indians  while  asleep  in  their  tepee 


BLACKFEET  PICTOGRAPHS    253 

at  night;  he  detected  them  by  the  light  of  their 
fire;  Black  Bear  on  horseback  and  a  Sioux  In- 
dian killed  by  him ;  Black  Bear  fighting  with  the 
Chippewa  Indians  with  knives;  buffalo  hooking 
Black  Bear's  horse  and  killed  by  Black  Bear; 
Black  Bear  on  a  spotted  Assiniboine  horse,  with 
other  horses  stolen  from  his  enemies;  Black  Bear 
getting  off  his  horse  and  grabbing  a  Sioux  by 
the  neck  and  stabbing  him;  Black  Bear  hiding 
behind  his  horse  and  killing  a  Chippewa  Indian ; 
Black  Bear  and  the  Blackfeet  surrounding  the 
Yankton  Sioux  and  engaged  in  battle  with  them ; 
Black  Bear  shooting  and  killing  a  Kootenai  In- 
dian who  was  hiding  behind  a  pine  tree. 

Section  five  is  the  history  of  Medicine  Owl, 
and  shows  him  killing  two  cranes  at  one  shot; 
Medicine  Owl's  wife  chasing  and  killing  a  buf- 
falo and  lassoing  a  coyote;  Owl's  wife  with  an 
eagle  which  she  has  caught ;  Owl  killing  a  water- 
bird  or  crane  on  the  wing;  tepee  of  Owl,  his 
peace  pipes  and  medicine  pipe;  Medicine  Owl 
and  his  war  party,  who  had  only  two  guns  and 
were  chased  by  the  Crows,  but  suffered  no  loss; 
Owl  and  his  brother,  Duck  Head,  as  he  was  res- 
cuing him  after  he  had  been  wounded  in  a  big 
battle  with  robbers  on  the  site  of  the  present  Two 
Medicine  Bridge;  red  tepees  belonging  to  the 


254    GLACIER  NATIONAL  PARK 

Crows,  and  Medicine  Owl  walking  around  them 
(see  footsteps)  while  the  Crows  were  away;  he 
stole  several  fine  buckskin  suits  of  clothes,  a  fine 
pipe  and  several  other  articles  from  these  tepees ; 
striped  tepees  in  which  Medicine  Owl  entertains 
his  friends  of  which  he  has  a  large  number  com- 
ing to  see  him  all  the  time;  above  these  tepees 
is  the  picture  of  the  Owl,  which  is  Medicine  Owl's 
signature,  and  on  the  poles  of  the  tepee  hang 
the  otter  skins  carried  by  him  as  flags;  battle 
between  the  Piegan  and  Crows  in  which  the 
Piegans  left  their  horses  to  one  side,  dug  a  hole 
in  the  ground  and  fought  from  that,  none  of  them 
being  killed;  the  Crows  lost  two  horses  in  this 
fight  and  gave  it  up,  as  they  were  afraid  to  go 
into  the  pit. 

Section  six  pictures  a  big  battle  between  the 
Piegan  or  Blackfeet  and  the  Assiniboine,  Yank- 
ton  Sioux,  Crows,  Grovons,  and  some  Chippe- 
was,  in  which  the  Piegans  were  led  by  Chiefs 
Stingy,  Boy  and  Many  Tail  Feathers,  who  ran 
over  some  and  stabbed  some ;  in  this  battle  most 
all  of  the  Grovon  tribe  were  killed.  This  pic- 
ture shows  the  squaws  taken  by  the  Piegans  in 
this  battle,  as  well  as  the  buffalo  hides,  weapons, 
etc.,  captured.  This  was  a  great  battle  and  Medi- 
cine Owl  says  that  it  would  take  sixty  feet  of 


BLACKFEET  PICTOGRAPHS    255 

canvas  to  depict  all  of  the  events  of  it  in  detail. 
There  were  over  one  hundred  Indians  killed. 

Section  seven  contains  the  history  of  Shorty 
White  Grass,  showing  horses  stolen  by  him  and 
Dog  Ears  from  the  enemy's  corral;  six  tepees 
belong  to  White  Grass;  also  shows  Mike  Short 
May  or  Big  Left  Hand ;  tepee  lodge  in  a  circle, 
belonging  to  the  Crows,  and  White  Grass  go- 
ing into  the  lodge  and  stealing  things  belonging 
to  the  Crows. 

Section  eight  is  tlie  history  of  Chief  Ground, 
the  father  of  Eagle  Calf,  who  is  employed  at  the 
Glacier  Park  Hotel  to  meet  trains.  It  shows 
him  in  a  fight  with  the  Crows ;  tepee  with  Ground 
and  his  braves  inside  fighting  with  Crows,  whom 
they  killed;  spears,  pipe,  etc.,  taken  from  the 
Crows  in  this  battle;  Ground  in  a  fight  with  the 
Grovons;  Ground  was  shot  in  the  hand  so  that 
he  could  not  use  his  gun,  but  picked  it  up  and 
dragged  it  away  with  him. 

Bird  Rattle  is  the  Chief  pictured  in  the  ninth 
section,  and  is  seen  stealing  the  best  horse  of 
the  Crows  from  their  corral,  as  well  as  the  war- 
bonnet,  shield,  etc.,  from  them;  shows  him  in  a 
fight  with  the  Crows,  single-handed;  Cheyenne 
Indian  horses,  squaws  and  travois  stolen  from 
the  Cheyennes  by  Bird  Rattle ;  on  the  travois  are 


seen  a  stolen  gun  and  boy  which  Bird  Rattle  is 
taking  home  with  him;  Bird  Rattle  stealing 
horses  from  the  Crows;  Bird  Rattle  and  his  sig- 
nature and  two  horses  stolen  from  the  Crows. 

Section  ten  shows  more  of  the  history  of  Bad 
Marriage.  He  was  a  great  hunter,  and  the  pic- 
tures show  him  killing  two  prairie  chickens  at 
one  shot ;  killing  a  buffalo  after  he  had  fallen  off 
his  horse ;  chasing  and  killing  a  coyote  by  roping 
him ;  shooting  a  prairie  chicken  on  the  wing ;  rop- 
ing a  buffalo  calf  when  he  was  a  boy;  chasing 
and  killing  a  buffalo  when  he  was  a  little  older. 
Bad  Marriage  is  shown  stealing  horses  from 
Grovon  tepees,  and  being  attacked  by  the  watch- 
dog while  doing  so. 

Section  eleven,  Morning  Gun,  showing  battle 
between  Morning  Gun  and  the  Crows,  with  his 
party  in  the  hole,  while  Morning  Gun  went  out- 
side to  meet  the  foe  hand  to  hand;  battle  of  the 
Blackfeet  and  the  Yankton  Sioux,  the  former 
in  an  ambush. 

Section  twelve  is  the  story  of  Many  Tail 
Feathers,  a  brave  Indian  warrior,  and  shows  him 
stealing  a  mule  from  the  Sioux ;  horses  which  he 
has  taken  from  them ;  Many  Tail  Feathers  steal- 
ing horses  from  the  Cheyennes;  he  and  his 
brother  are  shown  riding  double,  his  brother  hav- 


BLACKFEET  PICTOGRAPHS    257 

ing  been  chased  by  the  Cheyennes  on  foot,  mak- 
ing it  necessary  for  his  brother  to  rescue  him  on 
his  own  horse;  Many  Tail  Feathers  in  a  battle 
with  the  Cheyennes,  shooting  a  horse  from  un- 
der one  of  the  enemy  and  then  killing  the  war- 
rior, and  showing  manner  of  fighting  from  a  hole 
dug  in  the  ground ;  battle  with  Assiniboines,  hav- 
ing his  horse  shot  from  under  him,  and  then  tak- 
ing the  gun  away  from  the  Indian  who  had  shot 
his  horse;  this  Indian  had  been  stealing  horses 
from  the  Piegans ;  Many  Tail  Feathers  taking  a 
tepee  lodge  of  the  Yankton  Sioux  at  night  and 
killing  one  of  the  Sioux ;  also  killed  some  of  their 
horses. 

Section  thirteen  continues  the  story  of  the 
deeds  of  Many  Tail  Feathers,  and  shows  a  bat- 
tle between  the  Piegans  and  the  Yankton  Sioux, 
with  Many  Tail  Feathers  just  ready  to  jump  into 
the  ambush  hole  of  the  Sioux,  showing  that  he 
was  a  very  brave  warrior;  Many  Tail  Feathers 
taking  a  horse  from  an  Indian  who  chased  him ; 
Many  Tail  Feathers  stealing  horses  from  the 
tepee  lodge,  showing  him  cutting  the  ropes  with 
his  knife;  another  scene  showing  him  pulling 
down  the  bars  of  the  Sioux'  corral  and  stealing 
their  horses. 


INDEX 


Ahern  Pass,  20 
Allen  Lake,  108 
Almost-A-Dog  Mt.,  85,  95,  145, 

160,  204 

Altyn  Lake,  24,  46,  110,  146 
Altyn  Mt.,  46,  71,  79,  108 
Androsace,  26,  27,  116,  117,  118, 

131 

Anemone,  116,  117,  118,  119,  122 
Animals,  26,  34 
Appe  Kunny  Mt.,  71,  205 
Appistoki  Peak,  38,  142 
Arnicas,  116,  118,  119,  120,  126 
Asters,  117,  118 
Automobile  Highway,  22,  35,  57, 

67,  99,  118 
Auto-stage,  45,  68 
Avalanche  Basin,  44,  207 
Avalanche  Lake,  149 


Bergschund,  159 

Big  Horn  Sheep,  34,  81,  149 

Birds,  41,  102,  105 

Bison  Mt.,  31,  69 

Blackfeet   Glacier,  23,  43,   103, 

154,  157 
Blackfeet   Indians,   54,   93,   94, 

174,  250 
Blackfeet    Indian    Reservation, 

20,  32,  55,  58,  69,  175 
Blackfeet  Mt.,  23,  154,  204 
Boulder  Glacier,  154,  156 
Bowman  Creek,  156 
Brown  Mt.,  150 
Browning,  175,  230,  245 
Buffalo  Ridge,  93 
Buffaloes,  91 
Butterworth,  129 


Badger  Creek,  96 

Basin  Mt.,  69 

Bear  Chief,  181,  182,  183 

Bear  Creek,  94 

Bear  Head  Mt.,  31,  51 

Beard  Tongue,  118,  119,  130 

Bedstraw,  117 

Belton,  22,  45,  72 


Canvas,  48,  208 
Canyon,  44,  78 
Canyon  Creek,  50,  82,  119 
Canyon  Glacier,  155 
Carter  Glacier,  156 
Chalets,  29,  30,  66 
Chalet  Villages,  29,  35 
Chancy  Glacier,  155 
Chickweed,  116,  117,  118,  129 
Chief  Medicine  Owl,  48 


259 


260 


INDEX 


Chief  Mt.,  70,  95,  194,  206 

Cirques,  44,  147,  158 

Citadel  Mt.,  85,  103,  145,  158, 

160 

Clematis,  118,  121 
Columbine,   117,   118,   119,   120, 

130 
Continental  Divide,  20,  26,  39, 

44,  74,  77,  83,  110,  140,  176 
Coup,  181,  183,  187 
Cracker  Lake,  50,  82,  119 
Crocuses,  116 
Cut  Bank,  35,  38,  86,  119 
Cut  Bank  River,  94,  96,  201 
Cutthroat,  38,  41 


D 

Daffodils,  116 
Daisies,  109,  116 
Dances,  184,  187 
Dawson  Pass,  38 
Department  of  the  Interior,  67 
Divide  Mt.,  70,  95,  204 
Dolly  Varden,  41 
Dormitory,  36,  49 
Duck-Lake,  78 


E 


Escarpment,  77,  109 


F 

Ferns,  116 

Field  Chickweed,  129 
Fir,  32,  33,  45 
Fish,  27,  38,  41 


Fissures,  161 

Flax,  119,  121 

Flathead  River,  20,  72 

Flatheads,  93,  94,  209 

Flat-top  Mt.,  20 

Fleabane,  117,  129 

Flora,  40,  65,  82,  109,  113,  114, 

115,  129 

Flower  Pass,  100,  108 
Forest  Lobby,  33,  43,  48,  52 
Forests,  26,  58,  70,  103 
Forget-me-nots,  117,  120 
Frieze,  34,  48 
Fungi,  116 
Fur-traders,  90 
Fusilade,  85,  103,  145,  160 


Gaillardias,  118,  119,  120,  127 
Game  Trails,  73 
Garden  Wall,  46,  77,  108,  148 
Gate  of  the  Hills,  41 
Gentians,  114,  115,  125 
Glacial  Period,  139,  152 
Glacier  Park  Hotel,  30,  32,  33, 

67,  99,  118,  255 
Glacier  Park  Station,  22,  30 
Glaciers,  23,  153 
Globe  Flower,  117, 120,  134 
Gnome  Trees,  64 
Goat  Mt.,  42,  145,  203,  206 
Gods,  175,  181,  184 
Going-to-the-Sun  Camp,  24,  39, 

100,  155 
Going-to-the-Sun  Mt.,  42,  85,  95, 

103,  108,  145,  158,  192,  202 
Golden-rod,  118 
Golden  Stair  Waterfall,  25,  80 
Good  Spirit  Woman,  96 


INDEX 


2G1 


Gould  Mt,  46,  71,  77,  111,  147 
Government  Roads,  68,  72 
Granite   Park   Chalets,  44,   79, 

119 

Grass  Dance,  184 
Great  Northern  R.  R.,  20,  68, 

96 

Great  Spirit,  175,  179,  197 
Grinnell,  George  Bird,  155,  199, 

203,  205 

Grinnell  Glacier,  108,  155 
Grinnell  Lake,  24,  50,  110,  146 
Grinnell,  Mt.,  46,  71,  76,  77,  108, 

111,  147,  155 
Guides,  54 

Gunsight  Camp,  23,  43,  100 
Gunsight  Chalets,  154,  157 
Gunsight  Lake,  24,  43,  84,  100, 

101,  110,  149 
Gunsight  Mt.,  82,  84 
Gunsight   Pass,   43,   74,   82,  84, 

149,  205 

H 

Harebell,  113,  117,  119,  120,  125 
Harrison  Glacier,  154 
Heath,  116,  119,  131 
Heather,  116,  119,  132 
Heaven's  Peak,  206 
Heliotrope,  117,  128 
Hornaday,  W.  J.,  43 
Horses,  57,  77 
Hudson   Bay  Company,  90,  97, 

175,  199 

Hudson  Bay  Divide,  95 
Hyacinths,  113 


Indian  Paint   Brush,  118,  119, 
136 


Jack  Pines,  64 
Jefferson  Pass,  156 
Juniper,  116 


King  Glacier,  78 

Kintla  Glacier,  156 

Kintla  Mt.,  156 

Kootenais,  93,  94,  211,  223,  241 


Lady's  Slipper,  119,  135 

Lakes,  23,  189,  140 

Lake  Ellen  Wilson,  44,  83,  149 

Lake  Louise,  83 

Larkspur,  118,  127 

Lateral  Moraines,  153 

Launch,  41,  145 

Legends,  191 

Lewis  and  Clark,  99 

Lewis  Hotel,  46 

Lewis  Range,  31 

Lichens,  64 

Little  Chief  Mt.,  95,  103,  145, 

155,  158,  204 
Little  Chief  Glacier,  155 


Iceberg  Lake,  24,  50,  79,  81,  147, 
148,  168,  206 


Macadam   Road,  45,   73 
McDermott    Lake,    24,    47,    71, 
146,  147 


262 


INDEX 


McDonald  Lake,  24,  45,  72,  79, 

150 

Many  Glacier  Camp,  46,  75,  111 
Many  Glacier  Hotel,  47,  67,  99 
Medicine  Bundle,  188 
Medicine  Lodge,  178,  180 
Medicine  Man,  179,  188,  219 
Medicine  Prayer,  180,  189 
Midvale  Creek,  32 
Monroe,  Hugh,  192,  199,  200 
Montana,  19 
Moraines,  153 
Morning    Eagle    Falls,   25,    50, 

110 

Moss  Campion,  117 
Mt.  Cleveland,  79 
Mt.  Henry,  31,  51,  69 
Mt.  Logan,  155 
Mt.    Jackson,    23,    82,   84,    100, 

154,  157 

Mt.  Rockwell,  37,  65,  142 
Mt.  Siyeh,  82,  108 
Mt.  Wilbur,  46,  71,  76,  77,  111, 

147 

Mountain  Phacelia,  118,  124 
Music,  24,  25,  105 


N 

Narrows,  41 

Ne>e",  159 

Northern  Twin  Flower,  117,  123 


Painted  Cups,  117,  119,  137 

Parsley,  117 

Pasque  Flower,  118 

Passes,  74 

Picture-writing,  208 

Pictographs,  208 

Piegans,  212 

Piegan  Glacier,  155 

Piegan  Pass,  25,  43,  50,  74,  100, 

155 

Piegan  Mt.  108 

Pines,  42,  45,  65,  104,  140,  149 
Precipice,  26,  60 
Ptarmagan  Lake,  50 
Pumpelly  Glacier,  154 
Pumpelly  Pillar,  38 

Q 

Queen's  Cup,  117,  123 

R 

Rainbow    Glacier,    156 
Red  Eagle  Glacier,  155 
Red  Eagle  Lake,  41,  120 
Red  Eagle  Mt.,  95,  145,  203 
Red  River  Cart,  98 
Reynold's  Mt.,  145,  160 
Rhododendron,  119,  135 
Riding  Clothes,  56 
Rising    Wolf   Mt.,   37,    65,   95, 

142,  199,  200,  201 
Rocky  Mt.  Goat,  81,  149 
Roses,  113 


Olson's  Creek,  156 
Olson's  Glacier,  156 
Oriental  Limited,  30 


Saxifrage,  117,  123 
Scalp  Dance,  187 


INDEX 


263 


Schultz,  J.  W.,  191,  205 

Sexton  Glacier,  108,  155 

Sherburne  Lakes,  70,  71 

Single  Shot  Mt.,  145,  203 

Slickers,  59 

Snow  Lily,  134 

Snowstorm,  59 

Sour  Spirit,  85,  192,  193 

Sperry  Camp,  43,  44,  83,  154 

Sperry  Glacier,  44,  154 

Sperry,  Prof.  L.  B..  155 

Spirea,  117,  119,  133 

Split  Mt.,  155 

Spot  Mt.,  69,  96 

Sprague  Creek,  44 

Squaw  Mt.,  30,  31,  51,  69,  96 

Stage,  45 

St.  Nicholas  Mt,  38 

St.  Mary  Camp,  24,  35,  39,  70, 

119 
St.  Mary's  Lake,  24,  70,  78,  142- 

144,  192,  202 

St.  Mary's  River,  103,  202 
Stanton  Mt.,  150 
Sue  Glacier,  155 
Sue  Lake,  155 
Sun  Dance,  245 
"Sun  Woman,"  180 
Sweetgrass  Hills,  78,  207,  213, 

229,  242 
Swift  Current  Pass,  50,  70,  74, 

155 
Swift  Current  River,  205 


Taft,  President,  19 
Tepees,  29,  32,  50,  176 
Totem  Poles,  34 
Tourists,  21,  22,  35 


Trails,  60,  67,  73,  74,  85,  86,  87, 

88,  92,  95,  107 
Travois,  68,  89 
Trick  Falls,  25,  38,  80 
Triple  Divide  Peak,  39,  86,  95, 

202 

Trout,  38,  41,  82 
Two  Medicine  Chalets,  35,  37, 

52,  65,  118 
Two  Medicine  Lake,  24,  62,  141, 

142,  197,  201 
Two  Medicine  River,  69,  94,  96, 

201 

U 

Upper  St.  Mary's  Lake,  24 

V 

Vetches,  118,  119,  132 
Veronicas,  116 
Violet,  116 
Vulture  Glacier,  156 
Vulture   Peak,  156 

W 

Waterfalls,  25,  75,  78,  80,  84, 

104,  149 

White  Calf  Mt.,  69 
White  Fish  Mt.,  145 
Willow  Creek,  176,  207 
Wimpus,  170 

Y 
Yellow  Owl,  178 


Zones,  Flower,  114,  116 


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